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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which of the following did Lessing delight in telling the other children at the school?
(a) That being naughty was more fun than behaving.
(b) That lying would make their face stick in a horrible position.
(c) That being naughty was much worse than lying.
(d) That a lie was worse than being naughty.

2. How many family members went to visit Lessing's house in Persia?
(a) Six.
(b) Two.
(c) Three.
(d) Four.

3. During the 1930's what did Lessing and her brother hear all of the adults discussing?
(a) The War.
(b) The Native Problem.
(c) The Empire.
(d) The Slump.

4. How was Aunt Betty Cleverly like most women of her generation?
(a) Aunt Betty was committed to Victorian values.
(b) Aunt Betty's lover was killed in the War.
(c) Aunt Betty had decided not to marry.
(d) Aunt Betty was unhappily married.

5. How did Lessing's mother cure Lessing's lice problem?
(a) By washing her hair with scalding hot water.
(b) With expensive shampoo.
(c) By shaving her head.
(d) With paraffin.

Short Answer Questions

1. After returning to England, where did Lessing's family settle?

2. To which book did Lessing often compare her childhood?

3. How did Lessing's friend make a living in New York to support herself and her daughter?

4. In Chapter 3, which of the following does Lessing describe as her first memory?

5. Which of the following does Lessing state as signifying the end of any war?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Lessing's father's medical condition in this chapter.

2. How did Lessing's parents plan to acquire land in Southern Rhodesia?

3. How did Lessing become an atheist?

4. In your opinion, why does Lessing trace her lineage in the opening chapter?

5. What essential skill did Lessing learn in Chapter 5?

6. Why did Lessing's parents have all their teeth removed before leaving for Africa?

7. While their mother was bedridden, what did Lessing and her brother do?

8. According to Lessing in Chapter 2, what is the role of truth in autobiographical writing?

9. What did Lessing suspect was the root of her mother's illness?

10. What sensation predominated Lessing's childhood?

(see the answer keys)

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