Little Women, PART ONE: CHAPTER ELEVEN - Experiments quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. What experiment do the March sisters propose to their mother at the start of Chapter 11?

   • They want to earn money by taking on extra work during summer vacation
   • Correct answer: They want to spend an entire week doing nothing but leisure activities
   • They want to trade household chores with each other for a month
   • They want to live without spending any money for two full weeks

   The girls ask Marmee for permission to abandon all household duties for a week and spend their time entirely in play and rest.

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2. 2

   Question 2. What warning does Mrs. March give when she agrees to the experiment?

   • She warns them that Hannah will not help with any cooking or cleaning
   • She warns that they will lose their allowance if chores are not completed
   • Correct answer: She warns that all play and no work is as bad as all work and no play
   • She warns that Aunt March will be disappointed if she hears about it

   Mrs. March tells her daughters: "I think by Saturday night you will find that all play and no work is as bad as all work and no play."

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3. 3

   Question 3. What happens to Beth's canary Pip during the week of leisure?

   • He escapes from his cage through a door left open by Amy
   • He becomes ill from being left near an open window in the rain
   • Correct answer: He dies of starvation because Beth forgets to feed and water him
   • He is accidentally injured when Jo knocks his cage off the table

   Beth neglects to feed Pip during the experiment, and he is found dead in his cage on Saturday morning with "his little claws pathetically extended, as if imploring the food for want of which he had died."

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4. 4

   Question 4. Who does Jo invite to dinner on the day Mrs. March withdraws from the household?

   • Miss Crocker, hoping to improve relations with the elderly neighbor
   • Sallie Gardiner, to show off her cooking skills to Meg's friend
   • Correct answer: Laurie, sending a note to the office as a friendly gesture
   • Aunt March, wanting to prove she can manage the house alone

   Jo "immediately put a note in the office, inviting Laurie to dinner" with "perfect faith in her own powers and a friendly desire to make up the quarrel."

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5. 5

   Question 5. What is the crowning disaster of Jo's dinner party?

   • The asparagus heads cook off and the stalks remain hard as wood
   • Correct answer: She puts salt instead of sugar on the strawberries and the cream is sour
   • The bread burns black because she is distracted by the salad dressing
   • The lobster is so tough that nobody can cut or chew it properly

   The final catastrophe is that Jo accidentally sprinkles salt instead of sugar on the strawberries, and the cream she serves with them has gone sour because she forgot to put the milk in the refrigerator.

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6. 6

   Question 6. How does the disastrous dinner party end?

   • Miss Crocker scolds Jo harshly and storms out of the house in anger
   • Meg takes over the cooking and saves the meal with a quick substitute
   • Correct answer: Everyone laughs together and finishes with bread, butter, and olives
   • Laurie quietly leaves early to spare Jo further embarrassment

   When Jo meets Laurie's eyes, "the comical side of the affair suddenly struck her, and she laughed till the tears ran down her cheeks. So did everyone else," and they finish with bread and butter, olives and fun.

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7. 7

   Question 7. What does Mrs. March secretly do during the first part of the experiment week?

   • She writes letters to their father describing the girls' laziness
   • Correct answer: She and Hannah do the girls' neglected chores to keep the house running
   • She visits neighbors to arrange surprise activities for the weekend
   • She prepares an elaborate Saturday dinner to contrast with Jo's attempt

   Mrs. March "with Hannah's help did their neglected work, keeping home pleasant and the domestic machinery running smoothly" while the girls relaxed.

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8. 8

   Question 8. What resolution does Jo make at the end of the chapter?

   • She promises to read fewer books and spend more time outdoors
   • Correct answer: She resolves to learn plain cooking as her holiday task
   • She pledges to visit Aunt March at Plumfield every weekend
   • She decides to write a book about the experiment for Laurie

   Jo declares: "I'll learn plain cooking for my holiday task, and the dinner party I have shall be a success."

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9. 9

   Question 9. Which of the following actually happens in Chapter 11?

   • Correct answer: Amy accidentally ruins her white frock when she gets caught in a rain shower
   • Beth successfully learns three new songs during the first day of the experiment
   • Meg sells her blue muslin dress to Sallie Gardiner after it won't wash
   • Jo writes a poem about the experiment and reads it aloud to the family

   Amy "arranged her bower, put on her best white frock," went to draw, but "went to walk, got caught in a shower, and came home dripping," deeply regretting the damage done to her frock.

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10. 10

    Question 10. Which of the following actually happens in Chapter 11?

    • Correct answer: Mrs. March cooks a secret breakfast and eats it while the girls struggle
    • Laurie refuses to eat Jo's terrible food and asks for something else
    • Hannah teaches the girls how to make proper bread before she leaves
    • Jo composes Pip's epitaph while she struggles with the dinner preparations

    After receiving Jo's terrible breakfast tray, Mrs. March "laughed heartily over it after Jo was gone" and produced "the more palatable viands with which she had provided herself."

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does "ennui" mean as used in Chapter 11 when Amy complains about "several days devoted to pleasure, fretting, and ennui"?

    • Physical exhaustion from too much strenuous outdoor activity
    • Correct answer: A feeling of listlessness and boredom from lack of purpose or occupation
    • Anger and resentment toward siblings who will not play together
    • Anxiety about returning to school after summer vacation ends

    Ennui is a French-derived word meaning a feeling of listless dissatisfaction arising from having nothing meaningful to do — exactly what Amy experiences during the experiment.

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12. 12

    Question 12. What does "chagrin" mean when the narrator describes "great the chagrin of the head cook at her failures"?

    • Amusement and laughter at an unexpected comic situation
    • Physical pain caused by burns and cuts while working in the kitchen
    • Correct answer: A feeling of distress and humiliation caused by failure or disappointment
    • Stubborn determination to succeed despite repeated setbacks

    Chagrin means a feeling of distress or humiliation at having failed. Jo feels chagrin at her cooking disasters during the breakfast preparations.

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13. 13

    Question 13. What does "assuaged" mean when Beth finds "her grief much assuaged by beating up the pillows"?

    • Made worse or more intense through physical activity and distraction
    • Completely forgotten as if the grief had never existed at all
    • Redirected from sadness into anger at the people who caused it
    • Correct answer: Made less intense or severe; relieved or eased through activity

    Assuaged means made less intense or severe. Beth's grief over Pip is eased — not eliminated — by the productive activity of making beds and tidying her room.

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