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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. In the days when he is renovating his home, Trillin has this quote above his typewriter.
(a) "Time is money."
(b) "Writing doesn't pay."
(c) "Money doesn't grow on trees."
(d) "Words Is Money."

2. At the end of chapter three, Calvin tells a story about Alice in which she makes an annual trip to which of the following locations?
(a) Her best friend's grave.
(b) A summer home in Nova Scotia.
(c) A plant nursery in New Jersey.
(d) A brownstone in Greenwich Village.

3. According to Calvin, what leads to his success in courting Alice?
(a) His dumb luck and one or two deliberate moves.
(b) His dumb luck and good looks.
(c) His pipe smoking and fame as a writer.
(d) His reluctance to speak.

4. What reasons does Calvin give for stating that "Alice doesn't look like who she is"?
(a) Alice is seriously pampered and snooty in high school.
(b) Alice is known as the class beauty and most popular cheerleader in high school.
(c) Alice is not pampered or snooty, despite the fact that she grows up in an affluent town and attends a prestigious college.
(d) Alice looks like a dietitian, but in actuality she is a talented writer.

5. In chapter two, what fact about Dick Francis and his wife does Calvin share with the reader?
(a) Francis is serious, and his wife never stops trying to impress him.
(b) Francis' wife is a frequent character in her husband's books.
(c) Francis relies on his wife to help him produce his books.
(d) Francis and his wife meet at a magazine party.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where does Alice attend college?

2. What is the name of the magazine that hosts the party where Calvin first meets Alice?

3. How old is Alice when she is asked to be photographed by Doug Kirkland and model spring fashions in a magazine?

4. How does Calvin portray his wife Alice in books and magazine articles written before she dies?

5. When does Calvin read the obituary of Dick Francis' wife?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are some of the adversities Alice faces throughout her life?

2. In chapter one, Trillin reveals that although his readers become familiar with Alice as a sensible, somewhat serious character in his books and articles, they never really know her. Why?

3. In chapter two, Calvin Trillin reveals that he never stops trying to impress his wife Alice. Give an example of this.

4. Calvin Trillin states that from the day he meets Alice, he never stops trying to impress her. Why?

5. What event causes Alice to feel as though she loses her looks?

6. In what ways is Alice's beauty a hardship?

7. In chapter three, why does Alice accept the request to be photographed in a fashion issue of a magazine?

8. In chapter one, Calvin Trillin states that the stories he writes about his family can be compared what kinds of television shows?

9. In what ways are Alice's looks, coupled with the superficial facts about her background, misleading?

10. According to Calvin Trillin, Alice's beauty gives her some advantages. Explain.

(see the answer keys)

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