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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. What dance do Bernie O'Donnell and Maggie compete in?
(a) The jitterbug.
(b) The Military Two-step.
(c) The polka.
(d) The waltz.

2. What is the name of the village where the Mundys live?
(a) Ballybeg.
(b) Ryanga.
(c) Abyssinia.
(d) Donegal.

3. What does Gerry's customer take from him the day before yesterday?
(a) Four brochures.
(b) Four Bibles.
(c) Four gramophones.
(d) Four encyclopedias.

4. What superstition does Maggie believe?
(a) Throw salt over your shoulder if you spill it.
(b) A broken mirror will bring seven years of bad luck.
(c) Never walk under a ladder.
(d) A black cat should be avoided.

5. Where has Uncle Jack been when the story opens?
(a) Working for the British army in East Africa.
(b) In a leper colony in Uganda.
(c) In Dublin.
(d) In London.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Chris want Michael to believe about his father?

2. What is the population of Balleybeg looking forward to?

3. What does the storekeeper say the Mundys go through faster than anyone in Ballybeg?

4. Why does Maggie worry when Michael can't be seen?

5. What worries Kate most about losing her job?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Kate explain Uncle Jack's strange behavior?

2. What is Maggie's reaction to hearing that her old friend Bernie O'Donnell is in town, and why does she react this way?

3. What does Maggie release for Michael to see?

4. What does Chris wear during the sisters' dancing that upsets Kate?

5. What does Maggie recollect about Bernie?

6. Why do you think Rose can describe the Festival of Lughnasa to her sisters?

7. What does Maggie notice about the pack of cigarettes Kate brought her, and why is it significant?

8. What significance does Austin Morgan have in this story?

9. Why do you think young Michael felt unease rather than amusement or joy when his mother and aunts danced?

10. What does Maggie mean when she tells Michael that someday he's going to fill some woman's life with happiness?

(see the answer keys)

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