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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Mary is said to watch Patrick as he relates his statement “with a kind of dazed” what?
(a) Amazement
(b) Shock
(c) Horror
(d) Relief

2. How is Mary said to greet the store clerk when she arrives after killing Patrick?
(a) Decisively
(b) Brightly
(c) Faintly
(d) Sadly

3. Mary hides the truth about Patrick’s murder to presumably protect whom?
(a) Her unborn child
(b) Her mother
(c) Patrick’s lover
(d) Her secret lover

4. What is Mary’s response when Patrick tells her, “Listen, I’ve got something to tell you”?
(a) Should I sit down for this?
(b) Could it wait until after dinner?
(c) Please, explain yourself
(d) What is it, darling? What’s the matter?

5. How far along is Mary’s pregnancy in “Lamb to the Slaughter”?
(a) 2 months
(b) 6 months
(c) 8 months
(d) 4 months

6. What murder weapon is used to kill Patrick in the story?
(a) A knife
(b) A leg of lamb
(c) A crow bar
(d) A gun

7. Patrick tells Mary that what he has to say will be what to her in “Lamb to the Slaughter”?
(a) A bit of a shock
(b) Potentially crushing
(c) Somewhat of a relief
(d) Not what she wants to hear

8. One of the police detectives asks Mary if anything in the house could have been used as a weapon and if she will take a look around to see if anything is missing. What items does he suggest?
(a) A hammer or a shovel
(b) A frying pan or a fire poker
(c) A big spanner or a heavy metal vase
(d) A brick or a rock

9. Mary tells the police detectives that the meat for Patrick’s dinner is where when they question her?
(a) In the freezer
(b) Cooking in the oven
(c) In the refrigerator
(d) Thawing in the sink

10. As the search goes on, Mary knows that there are other policemen searching where?
(a) At the grocery store
(b) At her mother’s house
(c) In the cellar and attic
(d) In the garden around the house

11. “Lamb to the Slaughter” illustrates author Roald Dahl’s fascination with what literary genre?
(a) Historical fiction
(b) Science fiction
(c) Romance
(d) Horror

12. What is a prominent literary element in “Lamb to the Slaughter”?
(a) Symbolism
(b) Repetitive verse
(c) Onomatopoeia
(d) Literary allusion

13. According to the narrator, after Patrick tells Mary his story, “Her first instinct was to” do what?
(a) Clean the house
(b) Run out the front door
(c) Not believe any of it, to reject it all
(d) Scream and slap him

14. Patrick tells Mary in the first half of “Lamb to the Slaughter,” “I hope you won’t blame” who too much?
(a) My mistress
(b) Me
(c) Yourself
(d) God

15. What kind of store does Mary go to after killing Patrick?
(a) A bookstore
(b) A grocery store
(c) A taxidermy store
(d) A candy store

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Mary offer to get Patrick, but is turned down, after he arrives home in “Lamb to the Slaughter”?

2. What color is Patrick’s second drink that he makes for himself described as?

3. According to the narrator, “the detectives kept asking [Mary] a lot of questions. But they always treated her” how?

4. Where in “Lamb to the Slaughter” does the rising action take place?

5. How does Mary reenter her home after going to the store?

(see the answer keys)

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