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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who appears suddenly at the end of the street on their walk during the second day in Totes?
(a) The Prussian officer.
(b) Cornudet.
(c) The Old Nun.
(d) The innkeeper.

2. The third morning in Totes, the passengers awoke with _____faces and _______tempers.
(a) Tired; cheerful.
(b) Rested; irritable.
(c) Tired; irritable.
(d) Rested; cheerful.

3. As they talked on their walk the second day in Totes, what is the prevailing feeling among the women?
(a) Constraint.
(b) Pleasure.
(c) Anxiety.
(d) Sorrow.

4. What "broke forth like a cord that is overstrained" for Boule de Suif in the coach on their trip from Totes?
(a) Fury.
(b) Shame.
(c) Disappointment.
(d) Joy.

5. When the ladies talk about the Prussian soldier on their walk the second day, why does Madame Carre-Lamadon state that she regrets the soldier is not a Frenchman?
(a) Because he would have been a kind husband.
(b) Because he would have set them free.
(c) Because he would have made a handome hussar.
(d) Because he would have been more generous.

6. When the church bell summons the faithful on the third morning in Totes, what does Boule de Suif think about that convinces her to attend the ceremony?
(a) Her own child being rasied by peasants.
(b) Her own wedding in Yvetot.
(c) The fallen soldiers from the war.
(d) God's mercy on the poor and weak.

7. What are the lids on the oval dishes that Comtess de Breville take out in the coach on their departure from Totes decorated with?
(a) Painted landscape.
(b) Copper fruit.
(c) Porcelain flowers.
(d) Earthenware hare.

8. What is the name of the song Cornudet begins to hum in the coach at the end of "Boule de Suif"?
(a) Totes.
(b) Dieppe.
(c) Rouen.
(d) Marseillaise.

9. As they discuss the Prussian officer on the third day in Totes, why does Madame Carre-Lamadon's eyes glisten and her face grow pale?
(a) Because she is imagining the officer proposing marriage to her.
(b) Because she is imagining the officer laying his violent hands on her.
(c) Because she is imagining the officer abducting her.
(d) Because she is imagining the officer tenderly embracing her.

10. In the coach on their departure from Totes, who "sat still, lost in thought"?
(a) Cornudet.
(b) Boule de Suif.
(c) Comte de Breville.
(d) Loiseau.

11. What do the nuns do in the coach on their departure from Totes?
(a) Read.
(b) Pray.
(c) Eat.
(d) Sleep.

12. Why are the married women "utterly humiliated" at being met by the person on their walk the second day?
(a) Because they are in the company of Boule de Suif.
(b) Because they are in the company of Cornudet.
(c) Because they are in the company of Loiseau.
(d) Because they are in the company of the innkeeper.

13. When Boule de Suif arrives at the coach from their departure from Totes, why do the tier skirts appear "infected with some deadly disease"?
(a) Because they didn't want to touch Boule de Suif.
(b) Because they were infected with disease.
(c) Because Boule de Suif's son died from disease.
(d) Because they weren't laundered before departure.

14. When the passengers return from their walk on the second day in Totes, why do the exchange sharp words over the "merest trifles"?
(a) Because they are famished.
(b) Because they are restless.
(c) Because they are ill.
(d) Because they are exhausted.

15. On their walk the second day in Totes, what do the ladies discuss as the men talk of war?
(a) Children.
(b) Dress.
(c) Literature.
(d) Food.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the tone Maupassant uses in describing the "good sisters" in the coach on their departure from Totes?

2. Who is the first person to notice that Boule de Suif is weeping in the coach from Totes?

3. Who kept "suddenly busy" after Boule de Suif greets Madame Carre-Lamadon in the coach from Totes?

4. According to the passengers during lunch the second day of Totes, what step would have been of "little consequence" to Boule de Suif?

5. What is the clatter that can be heard in the coach as they make their journey from Totes?

(see the answer keys)

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