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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What article of clothing caught young Lessing's attention on Bayswater Road?
(a) A pair of ladies' riding pants.
(b) A lavish rose gown.
(c) A grey silk shift dress.
(d) A fur coat.

2. With whom did Lessing board as a child?
(a) Mrs. Scott.
(b) Mary Peach.
(c) Mrs. Mitchell.
(d) Mrs. James.

3. How did Lessing's friend make a living in New York to support herself and her daughter?
(a) Modeling.
(b) Writing.
(c) Prostitution.
(d) Acting.

4. What was the name of Lessing's nanny?
(a) Biddy.
(b) Beth.
(c) Betty.
(d) Betsy.

5. What do Lessing's parents do in preparation for their next voyage?
(a) They studied French.
(b) They had their teeth removed.
(c) They drew up a legal will.
(d) They saved money scrupulously.

6. How many trek oxen hauled the wagon carrying Lessing's family?
(a) 14.
(b) 12.
(c) 16.
(d) 18.

7. Which of the following books did Lessing use to illustrate the difference in transitioning from the consciousness of a child to that of an adult?
(a) Hamlet.
(b) Tristram Shandy.
(c) Pride and Prejudice.
(d) The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.

8. Growing up, what was Lessing always told about the family's financial status?
(a) That the family would be fine when her father settled in his new job.
(b) That the family was middle-class.
(c) That the family was poor.
(d) That the family was financially stable, but morally corrupt.

9. According to the quote at the opening of Chapter 1, the girl in Lessing's mother's favorite saying only cared about which of the following?
(a) Cats and flowers.
(b) Books and studying.
(c) Singing and prancing.
(d) Horses and dancing.

10. To which of the following does Lessing compare writers?
(a) Pegs on which to hang ideas.
(b) Ventriloquists, casting a message from afar.
(c) Liars.
(d) Archaeologists.

11. Where was Doris Lessing born?
(a) Southern Rhodesia.
(b) Kermanshah, Persia.
(c) London, England.
(d) Glasgow, Scotland.

12. What event in Lessing's childhood does she describe as having left her inconsolable?
(a) The beginning of war.
(b) The move to Africa.
(c) The death of her cat.
(d) The first day of school.

13. What was Lessing's name for her outward personality?
(a) Joey.
(b) Winnie the Pooh.
(c) Tigger.
(d) Igor.

14. What did Doris insist on having with her in the photograph for which she posed?
(a) A book.
(b) Her teddy bear.
(c) A flower that she picked herself.
(d) Her cat.

15. How many acres of land did James Tayler own in 1851?
(a) 30.
(b) 300.
(c) 90.
(d) 130.

Short Answer Questions

1. What type of play did Lessing write while at the Convent?

2. What did Lessing refuse to have on her bed at night?

3. According to Lessing, what is the most intense form of hatred?

4. What did Lessing's parents think of the Whiteheads when they first met them?

5. Which of the following sparkled in every rock that surrounded the Lessings' home?

(see the answer keys)

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