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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What has been able to distract Reta from grieving for Norah?
(a) Her novel.
(b) Her house.
(c) Her family.
(d) Her friends.

2. According to Reta, what can "help us turn down the volume of our own interior discourse"?
(a) Novels.
(b) Nature.
(c) Work.
(d) Family.

3. For what dish did Lois win a prize at the Orangetown Fair?
(a) English fish and chips.
(b) German honey cake.
(c) Irish stew.
(d) Greek baklava.

4. Who tells Reta and Tom that "Vagrancy can be thoughtful or careless; she has chosen the latter"?
(a) Ben Abbot.
(b) A psychiatrist.
(c) Norah's professor.
(d) Danielle Westerman.

5. Whose obituary does Reta read in the Globe and Mail?
(a) Pam Horton.
(b) Paul Hillsdale.
(c) Peter Harding.
(d) Paula Hemingway.

6. How does Reta sign her letter to Ford-Halpern?
(a) Yours, Rita Orange.
(b) Yours, Reta Winters.
(c) Yours, Rita Orange d'Ville.
(d) Yours, Reta Orangetown.

7. Who is Dennis Ford-Halpern?
(a) Norah's psychiatrist.
(b) A television host.
(c) Reta's writing teacher.
(d) The author of "The Goodness Gap."

8. What great themes of literature does Reta tell Helt she learned while in high school?
(a) Birth, love, work, goodness, and sympathy.
(b) Birth, death, good, evil, and sympathy.
(c) Birth, death, love, connections, work, and understanding.
(d) Birth, death, work, suffering, and understanding.

9. In what month does Reta write her letter to Ford-Halpern?
(a) December.
(b) August.
(c) October.
(d) March.

10. What does Reta call the "worry word" of life?
(a) Maybe.
(b) Because.
(c) Unless.
(d) Until.

11. Who is elected Prime Minister again?
(a) Jean Chretrien.
(b) Kim Campbell.
(c) Pierre Trudeau.
(d) John Turner.

12. Arthur tells Reta the day after Christmas that he has read all the reviews for what book?
(a) The Goodness Gap.
(b) Thyme in Bloom.
(c) Great Minds of the Western Intellectual World.
(d) My Thyme is Up.

13. Why does Lois knock on the door to investigate when Arthur is in the house by himself?
(a) Lois comes to investigate after hearing a loud noise.
(b) Lois comes to investigate after seeing Arthur close the curtains.
(c) Lois comes to investigate after waiting for the usual signs for dinner.
(d) Lois comes to investigate after seeing a stranger lurking outside.

14. What does Reta think of Helt's assessment of her first novel?
(a) Reta disagrees with Helt and does not want to be disregarded as a serious writer.
(b) Reta agrees with Helt but does not want to be disregarded as a serious writer.
(c) Reta agrees with Helt and is glad to be regarded as a serious writer.
(d) Reta disagrees with Helt but is glad to be regarded as a serious writer.

15. In the short story that Reta writes her letter about, what does the Czech professor see in the medical supply shop that disgusts him?
(a) A mastectomy bra.
(b) An artifical limb.
(c) An oxygen tank.
(d) A colostomy bag.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to Arthur, Roman is an ___________ and ___________ character.

2. Why does Arthur state that he thinks of the final chapter as the "kiln?"

3. What is Helt's central thesis in her review of a female author?

4. What items are NOT in the package Christine and Natalie bring Norah after Christmas break?

5. During lunch, why is Danielle disappointed with Reta's decision to write another novel?

(see the answer keys)

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