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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter Eleven.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. According to Lessing, why do authors write so many biographies?
(a) Biographies sell well.
(b) Biographies are based on fact.
(c) Biographies are simpler to write than fiction.
(d) Novels require more of the author's soul.

2. How many biographers were writing about Lessing at the time that she wrote the book?
(a) Four.
(b) Eight.
(c) Two.
(d) Five.

3. In Chapter 2, what is one thing that Lessing says the writer must have in order to begin to write about his/her life?
(a) Perspective.
(b) Tedious, rhetorical questions.
(c) Copious emotional space.
(d) Free time.

4. How did Lessing's mother cure Lessing's lice problem?
(a) With paraffin.
(b) With expensive shampoo.
(c) By washing her hair with scalding hot water.
(d) By shaving her head.

5. What did Lessing's father assume when she and Frank showed up at the family farm?
(a) Lessing's father assumed that Frank was interested in the family's money.
(b) Lessing's father assumed that Lessing had finally settled down.
(c) Lessing's father assumed that she was in love.
(d) Lessing's father assumed that she was pregnant.

Short Answer Questions

1. What stove brand did Lessing's family use?

2. Which of the following illnesses did Lessing's family battle?

3. To what activity does Lessing compare learning the skills of her new job?

4. Which of the following was the "chief wrong" that Lessing's mother cited in her diatribe against the Catholic Church?

5. What remained unaffected by the Lessings' existence for 20 years?

(see the answer key)

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