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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. Who was manning the secretary's desk in the main office when Alex was sent to the office in Chapter 26?

2. How many problems did Alex write on the board in calculus after the drill in Chapter 29?

3. Who was the principal at Alex's school before Mr. Alphonse took over?

4. At the end of Chapter 29, where did Alex tell Mr. Reynolds that she had to go?

5. When did snow fall at the beginning of Chapter 27?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did Marla tell Alex about dragoning when she appeared outside the apartment for the first time?

2. What dragonings occurred when Dr. Gantz was studying a group of Women Airforce Service Pilots?

3. What news story was broadcast about Saint Anges in Chapter 21?

4. Why did Alex think she was told to take calculus again her senior year in high school?

5. What happened when Beatrice nearly dragoned?

6. What were students to do during an air raid drill?

7. What did Alex remember about the two years after her mother died?

8. When was the last time that Alex saw her father?

9. Why did Mrs. Gyzinska visit Alex late one night at the apartment?

10. What would Beatrice do when Alex spent long hours at the library nearly daily?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Mood is an element that authors use to evoke feelings in readers through the use of descriptive language. Mood is the overall feeling that readers have when reading a story. What is the overall mood of When Women Were Dragons?

Essay Topic 2

George Green is a banker who is married, has a child, and is having an affair. How does Barnhill reveal his character traits?

Essay Topic 3

An allusion is a figure of speech that does not directly refer to a person, place, or thing. What are some allusions in When Women Were Dragons? Why might it be difficult to decipher an allusion just by the context of a passage in a book? How do the allusions Barnhill uses help readers’ understanding of characters or concepts?

(see the answer keys)

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