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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did Richard's mother teach him were the highest forms of understanding?

2. Richard found out that the funeral for his unknown "friend" was going to be on what day?

3. When Richard was little and in a high chair, what did his father bring home for him to play with that were of various colors?

4. When Richard went away to college after completing high school, where did he go?

5. When Arlene was in the hospital in Albuquerque, why did she have a little charcoal broiler in her room?

Short Essay Questions

1. When Richard speaks about writing an essay for the regents examination, he states that his literary friends were always "throwing the bull." What does this mean, and why does Richard decide to do it?

2. What happened when Arlene found a summer job in Scituate, taking care of children to be close to Richard?

3. Why was Richard told that it was all right when one speaker at the conference went over his time limit?

4. What did the ballroom in the palace in Brussels look like where Richard had to wait 20 minutes for the king and queen?

5. What did the policeman do while Richard followed the procession?

6. When Richard heard about miracles at the temple, he tried to explain the miracles with natural phenomena. What was one of the miracles he says he could never figure out?

7. How did Richard's father make the Tyrannosaurus Rex more understandable and more real to Richard when he was young?

8. What beauty did Richard state he could see in a flower?

9. What did Richard tell his wife about the Palace of Culture and Science?

10. At the end of Part 1: The Making of a Scientist, Richard mentions his mother. What does he say about her?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe what the tenth recommendation in the report was. Expound on the objections that Richard had to this "recommendation" and what kind of run-around he got about it. Describe the end result of Richard's complaining about the tenth recommendation.

Essay Topic 2

Explain why you think William Rogers was chosen as the head of the investigation commission? Give a detailed description of what qualities you think made him a good leader and those that may have hindered him from being a good leader in some parts.

Essay Topic 3

Depict how RIchard's parents (individually and together) influenced him in his life.

(see the answer keys)

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