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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How did writer Henry James describe Eliot's physical appearance?
(a) As hideously ugly.
(b) As average.
(c) As the traditional ideal of beauty.
(d) As unconventionally beautiful.

2. Who does Augustine encounter in Milan that changes his outlook on happiness and purpose?
(a) A beggar.
(b) A long-lost brother.
(c) The emperor.
(d) A prostitute.

3. Which singer performed at the 1963 March on Washington?
(a) Margaret Weiss.
(b) Mahalia Jackson.
(c) Nina Simone.
(d) Aretha Franklin.

4. What did Winston Churchill do when he visited Marshall in the hospital during his final illness?
(a) Weeped at the doorway.
(b) Consoled Marshall's son.
(c) Spoke to the doctors about new avenues for medical care.
(d) Brought flowers and chocolates.

5. In Chapter 5, what is a trait Brooks argues is common among modest people who achieve great success?
(a) They do not view failure as a negative thing.
(b) Someone once told them they were too stupid to do something, and they vowed to prove them wrong.
(c) They are extraordinarily wealthy.
(d) They are extraordinarily intelligent.

6. What kind of a romantic relationship did Augustine have for more than a decade?
(a) A close relationship with a concubine.
(b) A strong marriage to one woman, Cassandra.
(c) A relationship with a common-law wife.
(d) An arranged marriage to a distant cousin.

7. In Chapter 6, who does Brooks say was the most prominent Civil Rights leader in America at the time the program Command Performance aired?
(a) Nat Turner.
(b) Rosa Parks.
(c) Martin Luther King Jr.
(d) A. Philip Randolph.

8. What W.H. Auden poem does Brooks reference to help describe Eliot's decision to be with her life-long romantic partner?
(a) Oh How a Rose.
(b) Leap Before You Look.
(c) Taking the Plunge.
(d) Life on the Edge.

9. When was Augustine born?
(a) 500.
(b) 1345.
(c) 354.
(d) 1650.

10. Where did Marshall attend college?
(a) West Point.
(b) American University.
(c) The Naval Institute.
(d) Virginia Military Academy.

11. What trait does Brooks say made it hard for Marshall to develop friendships?
(a) His lack of a sense of humor.
(b) His painful shyness.
(c) His formality.
(d) His lack of self-confidence.

12. During her teenage years, what was Eliot mostly caught up in?
(a) The labor movement.
(b) The abolition movement.
(c) Working as a volunteer nurse during WWII.
(d) Religious fervor.

13. What did Sara Jane Lippincot say about Eliot's smile?
(a) It was rare, beautiful, and indescribable.
(b) It seemed disingenuous.
(c) It was frightening.
(d) It seemed more angry than mirthful.

14. What did Marshall believe one must do the less he agreed with the policies of his superiors?
(a) Quit and do more worthy work.
(b) Try even harder to help them accomplish those policies.
(c) Try to persuade those superiors that there is a better path.
(d) Go to the press and let reporters know what was happening was wrong.

15. What position did Augustine take in the later years of his life?
(a) Bishop.
(b) Monk.
(c) Pope.
(d) Postulant.

Short Answer Questions

1. What job did Marshall take right after the end of WWII, even though he did not really want it?

2. What company did Randolph work very hard to help unionize?

3. How did Eliot end her novel Middlemarch?

4. What do biographers often attribute Eliot's messy romantic life to?

5. What led to Rustin's public disgrace?

(see the answer keys)

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