1. Doris Lessing dropped out of school at the age of ______.

• A. thirteen

• B. fifteen

• C. seventeen

• D. twenty

Answer explanation

She was later sent to an all-girls high school in the capital of Salisbury until she dropped out at the age of 13, and was self-educated thereafter.

2. Doris Lessing’s first book published in 1950 is ________.

• A. Golden Notebook

• B. The Grass is Singing

• C. A Ripple from the Storm

• D. Children of Violence

Answer explanation

By 1950, she published her first novel, The Grass Is Singing, and began her career as a professional writer.

3. When did Doris Lessing receive an Honorary Degree from Harvard University?

•  A. In September 1994

• B. In June 1994

• C. In July 1996

•  D. In June 1995 

4. Doris Lessing collaborated with illustrator Charlie Adlard to create the unique and unusual graphic novel. What is the name of the novel?

• A. Love Again

• B. Playing the Game

• C. Going Home

• D. In Pursuit of the English

5. When did Doris Lessing win Nobel Prize for Literature?

• A. 1985

• B. 2003

• C. 2007

• D. 2013

6. The work “Flight” is in which period of English literature?

• A. Modern English literature

• B. Middle English literature

• C. Old English literature

• D. Unidentified

Answer explanation

• Historical background: Modern period in English literature begins in the 20th century and remains till 1965. William Shakespeare and Jane Austen are among some of the famous authors of this era. Some common themes of this era include alienation, transformation, consumption, and the relativity of truth.

7. Who is the father of modern English drama?

• A. Geoffrey Chaucer

• B. Henrik Ibsen

• C. Caedmon

• D. William Shakespeare

Answer explanation

Henrik Ibsen dubbed the “father of modern drama”, is the most performed playwright in the world behind William Shakespeare.

8. Which season is the time setting of “Flight”?

• A. Spring

• B. Summer

• C. Fall

• D. Winter

Answer explanation

Time setting:

Summer is the season that is set in the story.

In detail, from the beginning to the end, the narrative time is the summer evening. Some evidences:

+"Her smile made him see her, as he had every evening of this warm end-of-summer month," : Summer

+"Content, he rested the bird lightly on his chest, and leaned against a tree, gazing out beyond the dovecote into the landscape of a late afternoon.": at the beginning, the time of the story is the evening.

+"A whirr and a spatter of wings, and a cloud of birds rose into the evening from the dovecote."

9. What collection does the “Flight” belong to?

• A. Sacred Emily

• B. The rainbow

• C. The grass is singing

• D. The Habit of Loving

10. When was the work “Flight” published?

• A. 1927

• B. 1937

• C. 1947

• D. 1957

Answer explanation

• Setting:

"Flight" was published in 1957, in a collection of short stories entitled The Habit of Loving.

Setting of Flight: "Place" Doris Lessing grew up in Zimbabwe, in southern Africa. Many details make the story seem almost English in its setting.