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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. After returning to England, where did Lessing's family settle?
(a) In the East End.
(b) In Bloomsbury.
(c) In Southern Rhodesia.
(d) In Persia.

2. How did Lessing's mother convey her distaste for Emily McVeagh?
(a) A sniff.
(b) A look of disdain in her eyes.
(c) A constant undercurrent in her descriptions of Emily.
(d) A story about her frivolous ways.

3. How did Lessing rebel while aboard the ship?
(a) By stealing things and lying about them.
(b) By staying up late.
(c) By speaking disrespectfully to the nanny.
(d) By sneaking out of the cabin.

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

5. Where was John McVeagh born?
(a) Portugal.
(b) England.
(c) Rhodesia.
(d) Persia.

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

7. At what age did Emily McVeagh die?
(a) 35.
(b) 32.
(c) 42.
(d) 23.

8. What year did Lessing leave Southern Rhodesia?
(a) 1945.
(b) 1934.
(c) 1949.
(d) 1919.

9. What made Lessing and her brother weep at the end of Chapter 5?
(a) Their mother shaved her head.
(b) Their father died.
(c) Their servants were fired for stealing.
(d) Their mother died.

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

11. What kind of food were the children fed at the convent that Lessing stayed in as a child?
(a) French peasant food.
(b) Traditional Rhodesian food.
(c) English peasant food.
(d) German peasant food.

12. Where did Lessing's family live before they found property?
(a) In Lilfordia.
(b) In London.
(c) In Kent.
(d) In Johannesburg.

13. In Chapter 4, what city did Lessing's mother insist on traveling through on the way back to England?
(a) London.
(b) Brussels.
(c) Paris.
(d) Moscow.

14. How many adults lived in the Persian house while Lessing was growing up?
(a) One.
(b) Three.
(c) Four.
(d) Two.

15. 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) Tedious, rhetorical questions.
(b) Free time.
(c) Copious emotional space.
(d) Perspective.

Short Answer Questions

1. What article of clothing caught young Lessing's attention on Bayswater Road?

2. What social development occurred during Lessing's stay at the Convent which, much to the chagrin of the nuns, parents supported?

3. To which book did Lessing often compare her childhood?

4. Which of the following drugs does Lessing admit to having taken once?

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

(see the answer keys)

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