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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. According to Reta, what is the most important aspect in her life?
(a) Her husband.
(b) Her children.
(c) Her home.
(d) Her writing career.

2. According to Ben, Norah had become uncharacteristically __________ and __________ in the few weeks prior to her disappearance.
(a) Manic; jumpy.
(b) Irritable; short-tempered.
(c) Depressed; lethargic.
(d) Calm; peaceful.

3. What task do Reta and Tom engage in after the package is delivered to the Winters' home?
(a) Cleaning.
(b) Carpentry.
(c) Gardening.
(d) Reading.

4. What does Norah ask Reta about their family when she is nine years-old?
(a) Norah asks Reta whether or not they are from Canada.
(b) Norah asks Reta whether or not her parents are married.
(c) Norah asks Reta whether or not her parents are Catholic.
(d) Norah asks Reta whether or not she is adopted.

5. Who suddenly dies at Scribano & Lawrence?
(a) Mrs. Scribano.
(b) Mr. Lawrence.
(c) Mr. Scribano.
(d) Mrs. Lawrence.

6. What praise does Reta give Alexander Valkner about his article "The History of Dictionaries"?
(a) Reta praises his personal narrative style.
(b) Reta praises his intellectual rigor.
(c) Reta praises his broad approach.
(d) Reta praises his research method.

7. What is the signal Reta gives to Lois for her to come over for her nightly meal with the family?
(a) Reta opens the patio door.
(b) Reta shuts the red kitchen curtains.
(c) Reta opens the red kitchen curtains.
(d) Reta shuts the patio door.

8. What is the subject of the new book Tom is reading?
(a) Fungi.
(b) Trilobites.
(c) Plankton.
(d) Mites.

9. What constant preoccupation does Reta think is not a normal activity for anyone BUT writers?
(a) The constant preoccupation with a world that exists in the imagination.
(b) The constant preoccupation with real life and death concerns.
(c) The constant preoccupation with the self.
(d) The constant preoccupation with recreating the past.

10. Why does Reta attend a series of interviews in September?
(a) Reta attends them on behalf of her mentor.
(b) Reta attends them because she enjoys being interviewed.
(c) Reta attends them in order to get a raise at work.
(d) Reta attends them because it is part of her research.

11. According to Reta, what is "full of rough corners that seem to me just about to come into their full beauty"?
(a) Reta's writing.
(b) Reta's husband.
(c) Reta's daughters.
(d) Reta's home.

12. What is the name of Reta's friend, a medical journalist who lives in Newfoundland?
(a) Emily Alister.
(b) Esther Alford.
(c) Edith Ackman.
(d) Emma Allen.

13. What two languages are spoken during Reta's childhood?
(a) English and French.
(b) French and Spanish.
(c) English and Spanish.
(d) English and German.

14. According to Reta, what is there a sense of that runs throughout her main characters' story?
(a) Danger.
(b) Intimacy.
(c) Prudishness.
(d) Excitement.

15. What troubles Norah when she comes home one weekend her second year at university?
(a) Norah is upset that she cannot spend more time with her sisters.
(b) Norah is anxious about her decision to live with her boyfriend.
(c) Norah is afraid that she will disappoint her parents by failing school.
(d) Norah is disturbed by the sense that she cannot love anyone enough.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the name of the book Reta picks up at Orangetown Library?

2. What do the Winters do when they discover where Norah sleeps at night?

3. What is undrinkable according to Colin?

4. Who does Reta mention by name in her letter of complaint about "Great Minds of the Western Intellectual World"?

5. What is Reta's struggle about what a writer of fiction should give the reader?

(see the answer keys)

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