Selection Test: "The Necklace"

Guy de Maupassant, translated by Andrew MacAndrew

First Read: Comprehension

Identify the choice that best answers the question.

1. At the beginning of "The Necklace," why is Madame Loisel constantly unhappy?

a. Her husband is unkind.

b. She longs to be wealthy.
c. Her health is often poor.
d. She longs for more friends.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: Unit 4
OBJ: Comprehension NAT: RL.2 | RL.3
TOP: Summarize all or part of a text (literature) KEY: Selection Test

2. At the beginning of "The Necklace," what is the most likely conclusion that readers can draw about
Madame Loisel's character, based on the life she desires?

a. She enjoys working.

b. She has simple needs.
c. She cares primarily about her husband.
d. She cares primarily about material things.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Average REF: Unit 4
OBJ: Comprehension NAT: RL.2 | RL.3
TOP: Analyze character and characterization KEY: Selection Test

3. In "The Necklace," what does Monsieur Loisel's treatment of his wife most clearly reveal about his
character?

a. He cares deeply about his wife's happiness.

b. He has grown tired of his wife's complaints.
c. He cares far too much about material things.
d. He enjoys accompanying his wife to fancy receptions.
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Average REF: Unit 4
OBJ: Comprehension NAT: RL.2 | RL.3
TOP: Make inferences and support them with textual evidence (literature)
KEY: Selection Test

4. In "The Necklace," what decision do the Loisels make after they fail to find the lost necklace?

a. They decide to replace it.

b. They decide to flee the country.
c. They decide to buy a cheap imitation.
d. They decide to admit they lost the necklace.
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: Unit 4
OBJ: Comprehension NAT: RL.2 | RL.3
TOP: Summarize all or part of a text (literature) KEY: Selection Test

5. In "The Necklace," what long-term effects does the loss of the necklace have on the Loisels' lives?
 a. The loss of the necklace causes the Loisels to fight, separate, and seek a divorce.
b. The loss of the necklace brings the Loisels closer together and makes their marriage
stronger.
c. The loss of the necklace causes the Loisels to adopt a life of crime in order to repay their
debts.
d. The loss of the necklace causes the Loisels to go into debt, live in poverty, and work at
multiple jobs.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Average REF: Unit 4
OBJ: Comprehension NAT: RL.2 | RL.3
TOP: Summarize all or part of a text (literature) KEY: Selection Test

First Read: Concept Vocabulary

Identify the choice that best answers the question.

6. What is the most likely meaning of refinement as it is used in this sentence? Use context clues to help
you.

His refinement was obvious when he stood to open the door and help the elderly woman find
her seat in the dining room.

a. wisdom and judgment

b. education and knowledge
c. agility and physical strength
d. politeness and good manners
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Average REF: Unit 4
OBJ: Vocabulary: Selection Words NAT: RL.4 | L.4.a
TOP: Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text (literature)
KEY: Selection Test

7. If a song can correctly be described as exquisite, then which of the following must be true? Base your
answer on the meaning of exquisite.

a. The singing was quite nice.

b. The band played skillfully.
c. The music was strikingly beautiful.
d. The lyrics recounted a fascinating story.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Average REF: Unit 4
OBJ: Vocabulary: Selection Words NAT: RL.4 | L.4
TOP: Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text (literature)
KEY: Selection Test

8. Which of the following words is closest in meaning to homage?

a. relief
b. honor
c. sincerity
d. satisfaction
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Average REF: Unit 4
OBJ: Vocabulary: Selection Words NAT: RL.4 | L.4
TOP: Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text (literature)
 KEY: Selection Test

Close Read: Analyze the Text

Identify the choice that best answers the question.

9. Read this excerpt from “The Necklace.” This episode occurs as the Loisels get ready to leave the party.

He brought her wraps so that they could leave and put them around her shoulders—the plain
wraps from her everyday life whose shabbiness jarred with the elegance of her evening dress.
She felt this and wanted to escape quickly so that the other women, who were enveloping
themselves in their rich furs, wouldn’t see her.
Loisel held her back.
“Wait a minute. You’ll catch cold out there. I’m going to call a cab.”
But she wouldn’t listen to him and went hastily downstairs.

What underlying meaning does the coat most likely represent in this story?

a. Madame Loisel’s embarrassment over her situation in life.

b. Madame Loisel’s failure to appreciate the good things in life.
c. Madame Loisel’s ecstatic enjoyment of the good things in life.
d. Madame Loisel’s indifference to her own health and well-being.
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Average REF: Unit 4
OBJ: Close Reading NAT: RL.1 | RL.2 | RL.4
TOP: Analyze literary elements: symbolism KEY: Selection Test

10. The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B.

Part A In “The Necklace,” how does Monsieur Loisel react to the party? (CHOOSE FROM
ANSWERS A THROUGH D.)

Part B Which passage from the story best supports the answer to Part A? (CHOOSE FROM
ANSWERS E THROUGH H.)

a. (Part A) He is embarrassed by his wife’s plain clothing.

b. (Part A) He despises the party and the people who attend it.
c. (Part A) He becomes tired and bored with the party after a while.
d. (Part A) He enjoys the party thoroughly and does not want to leave.

e. (Part B) “Why, I thought you’d be pleased, dear. You never go out and this would be an
occasion for you, a great one! I had a lot of trouble getting it. Everyone wants an
invitation: they’re in great demand and there are only a few reserved for the employees.
All the officials will be there.”
f. (Part B) The day of the party arrived. Madame Loisel was a great success. She was the
prettiest woman there—resplendent, graceful, beaming, and deliriously happy. All the men
looked at her, asked who she was, tried to get themselves introduced to her. All the
minister’s aides wanted to waltz with her. The minister himself noticed her.
g. (Part B) When she left the party, it was almost four in the morning. Her husband had been
sleeping since midnight in a small, deserted sitting room, with three other gentlemen
whose wives were having a wonderful time.
h. (Part B) He brought her wraps so that they could leave and put them around her shoulders
—the plain wraps from her everyday life whose shabbiness jarred with the elegance of her
evening dress.
 ANS: C, G PTS: 1 DIF: Challenging REF: Unit 4
OBJ: Close Reading: Text-Based Evidence NAT: RL.1 | RL.3
TOP: Make inferences and support them with textual evidence (literature)
KEY: Selection Test

11. The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B.

Part A In “The Necklace,” what is Madame Loisel’s attitude toward the sacrifices that she and her
husband must make as they work to replace the necklace? (CHOOSE FROM ANSWERS A
THROUGH D.)

Part B Which excerpt from “The Necklace” best supports the answer to Part A? (CHOOSE FROM
ANSWERS E THROUGH H.)

a. (Part A) gracious and happy

b. (Part A) angry and resentful
c. (Part A) enthusiastic and eager
d. (Part A) determined and courageous

e. (Part B) Unable to afford jewelry, she dressed simply: but she was as wretched as a
déclassée, for women have neither caste nor breeding—in them beauty, grace, and charm
replace pride of birth.
f. (Part B) All these things that another woman of her class would not even have noticed,
tormented her and made her angry. The very sight of the little Breton girl who cleaned for
her awoke rueful thoughts and the wildest dreams in her mind.
g. (Part B) She danced enraptured—carried away, intoxicated with pleasure, forgetting
everything in this triumph of her beauty and the glory of her success, floating in a cloud of
happiness formed by all this homage, all this admiration, all the desires she had stirred up
—by this victory so complete and so sweet to the heart of a woman.
h. (Part B) Madame Loisel came to know the awful life of the poverty-stricken. However,
she resigned herself to it with unexpected fortitude. The crushing debt had to be paid. She
would pay it.

ANS: D, H PTS: 1 DIF: Challenging REF: Unit 4

OBJ: Close Reading: Text-Based Evidence NAT: RL.1 | RL.2 | RL.3
TOP: Make inferences and support them with textual evidence (literature)
KEY: Selection Test

12. Which statement best summarizes one of the main messages of “The Necklace”?

a. People should beware of friends who are not honest and try to take advantage of them.
b. People should never lend anything to friends who cannot be counted on to return them.
c. People should learn to be happy with what they have rather than longing for things beyond
their reach.
d. People should always strive to build better lives for themselves, regardless of the sacrifices
they must make.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Average REF: Unit 4
OBJ: Close Reading NAT: RL.2
TOP: Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development
KEY: Selection Test

Close Read: Analyze Craft and Structure

 Identify the choice that best answers the question.

13. Which of the following events from "The Necklace" best illustrates situational irony? Choose two
options.

a. By trying to look rich enough to own a diamond necklace, Madame Loisel winds up
poorer than she was before.
b. Madame Loisel is a great success at the party, even though the event is meant to honor her
husband's boss.
c. Madame Loisel, who dislikes hard work, must sacrifice her best years working to replace
the lost necklace.
d. In order to please his wife, Monsieur Loisel agrees to pay more than the couple can afford
for a dress.
e. The Loisels are able to find a new necklace that looks exactly like the other one.
ANS: A, C PTS: 1 DIF: Challenging REF: Unit 4
OBJ: Analyze Craft and Structure: Situational Irony NAT: RL.5
TOP: Analyze literary devices: irony (including dramatic and situational)
KEY: Selection Test

14. Which event demonstrates the surprise ending in “The Necklace”?

a. Madame Loisel tells Madame Forestier that she had lost the necklace that her friend had
lent to her.
b. Madame Forestier does not recognize her old friend Madame Loisel because Madame
Loisel has aged so much.
c. Madame Forestier tells Madame Loisel that the necklace that had been lost was a fake that
was worth very little.
d. Madame Loisel tells Madame Forestier that she had had a very hard life because she had
to replace the lost necklace.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: Unit 4
OBJ: Analyze Craft and Structure: Surprise Ending NAT: RL.5
TOP: Analyze literary devices: surprise ending KEY: Selection Test

15. The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B.

Part A In “The Necklace,” what is the main effect of irony on the reader? (CHOOSE FROM
ANSWERS A THROUGH D.)

Part B Which excerpt from “The Necklace” is an example of irony that has the effect identified in Part
A? (CHOOSE FROM ANSWERS E THROUGH H.)

a. (Part A) It causes the reader to feel intense dislike for people like Madame Loisel.
b. (Part A) It causes the reader to feel sympathy for the harsh life Madame Loisel
unnecessarily led.
c. (Part A) It evokes feelings of superiority in the reader because the reader knows he or she
would never act so foolishly.
d. (Part A) It makes the reader realize that people who suffer and live miserable lives have
largely brought it on themselves.

e. (Part B) “You must write to your friend,” he said, “and tell her that you’ve broken the
clasp of the necklace and that you’re getting it mended. That’ll give us time to decide what
to do.”
 f. (Part B) The next day they took the case in which it had been kept and went to the jeweler
whose name appeared inside it. He looked through his ledgers: “I didn’t sell this necklace,
madame. I only supplied the case.”
g. (Part B) They asked the jeweler to hold it for them for three days, and they stipulated that
he should take it back for 34,000 francs if the other necklace was found before the end of
February.
h. (Part B) Madame Forestier, profoundly moved, took Mathilde’s hands in her own. “Oh,
my poor, poor Mathilde! Mine was false. It was worth five hundred francs at the most!”

ANS: B, H PTS: 1 DIF: Challenging REF: Unit 4

OBJ: Analyze Craft and Structure: Irony NAT: RL.1 | RL.5
TOP: Analyze literary devices: irony (including dramatic and situational)
KEY: Selection Test

Language Development: Word Study

Identify the choice that best answers the question.

16. What is the meaning of the Latin root -splend-?

a. behind or after
b. brilliant or radiant
c. practical or useful
d. secondary or inferior
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Average REF: Unit 4
OBJ: Language Development: Latin Root -splend- NAT: RL.4 | L.4
TOP: Determine the meaning of words: use Greek and Latin roots and affixes as clues— -splend-,
temper, tempor, -dur-, -fac- KEY: Selection Test

17. The word splendor contains the Latin root -splend-. Choose the situation that most clearly illustrates
the meaning of splendor. Base your answer on your knowledge of the root -splend-.

a. The tour took them to a magnificent, inspiring view of the Grand Canyon.
b. The children were bored with the movie, so they went outside to play soccer.
c. Everyone lost interest in the house when they saw how dilapidated and dirty it was.
d. The drama lasted three hours, by which time we were yawning and ready to go home.
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: Unit 4
OBJ: Language Development: Latin Root -splend- NAT: RL.4 | L.4
TOP: Determine the meaning of words: use Greek and Latin roots and affixes as clues— -splend-,
temper, tempor, -dur-, -fac- KEY: Selection Test

Language Development: Conventions

Identify the choice that best answers the question.

18. Read this sentence.

The guests gathered around the table. The dinner was served.

Which sentence shows a semicolon correctly used to combine the sentences?

a. The guests gathered; around the table the dinner was served.
b. The guests gathered around; the table the dinner was served.
c. The guests gathered around the table; the dinner was served.
 d. The guests gathered around the table and; the dinner was served.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Average REF: Unit 4
OBJ: Conventions: Semicolons NAT: L.2
TOP: Use standard English punctuation: semicolon KEY: Selection Test

19. Choose the sentence in which the semicolon has been correctly placed.

a. Megan stood outside the movie theater; her friends were late again.
b. Megan; stood outside the movie theater her friends were late again.
c. Megan stood outside; the movie theater her friends were late again.
d. Megan stood outside the movie theater her friends; were late again.
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Average REF: Unit 4
OBJ: Conventions: Semicolons NAT: L.2
TOP: Use standard English punctuation: semicolon KEY: Selection Test

20. Which sentence demonstrates the correct use of the semicolon?

a. Someone called for food a few minutes later, Bob; offered to pick it up.
b. So many people came; that the line stretched all the way around the block.
c. The performance was a wonderful success; people laughed long and loudly.
d. Our group danced until late in the night; and enjoyed themselves completely.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Average REF: Unit 4
OBJ: Conventions: Semicolons NAT: L.2
TOP: Use standard English punctuation: semicolon KEY: Selection Test