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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. According to Lessing, what tactic did the armies use to make killing easier?
(a) Aerial raids on villages.
(b) Vague meetings on military idealism.
(c) Long-distance weapons.
(d) Derogatory epithets and dehumanizing language.

2. What was the black population of Salisbury?
(a) 1,000.
(b) 10,000.
(c) 1,000,000.
(d) 100,000.

3. Why did Lessing begin to eat less during meals?
(a) Lessing wanted to impress a farm assistant.
(b) Because the clothing that would arrive for her was always too small.
(c) Lessing wanted to foil her mother's attempts to feed the family well.
(d) Lessing's mother told her to try to lose weight.

4. Which group was beginning to infiltrate Salisbury?
(a) The RAF.
(b) The U.S. Army.
(c) The Nazis.
(d) The British Navy.

5. How does Lessing describe the letters that she received from her mother?
(a) Frantic.
(b) Refreshing.
(c) Docile.
(d) Furious.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. In Chapter 14, what year did Lessing marry Gottfried Lessing?

3. With whom did Lessing talk at the Meikles Hotel Lounge?

4. Who is the hero of Fathers and Sons, the book Lessing cites in this chapter?

5. How does Lessing describe their sex life?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Lessing's entrance into love and romance as she describes it in Chapter 10.

2. Discuss Lessing's mini-vacation to Capetown.

3. What did Lessing realize when she was diagnosed with Low Fever and sent to the mountains to recover?

4. When John was 9 months old, what did Lessing and Frank decide to do?

5. In Chapter 15, what reason did Lessing give for switching law firms?

6. What did Lessing believe to be the true cause of her father's death?

7. Describe Lessing's ultimate assessment of the impact of the Communist Party in Southern Rhodesian politics.

8. How did Lessing support herself when she no longer lived with her parents?

9. In Chapter 13, how did Lessing rationalize her decision to leave Frank and their two children?

10. Describe Lessing's activities in Capetown in Chapter 17.

(see the answer keys)

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