Book I - Chapter IV. The Preparation Quiz — A Tale of Two Cities

Where does Mr. Lorry arrive at the beginning of Chapter 4?

• The Tellson's Bank branch office in the port town of Calais, France
• The Royal George Hotel in Dover, after the overnight mail coach from London
• A private residence in the London suburb of Soho, near the Manette family home
• A coaching inn on the road between London and Canterbury, halfway to his destination

How does Dickens comically describe Mr. Lorry emerging from the mail coach?

• Like a nobleman descending from a gilded carriage, stiff with dignity and cold
• Like a soldier returning from battle, weary but triumphant after a long campaign
• Like a larger sort of dog shaking himself out of a larger dog-kennel
• Like a bear waking from hibernation, blinking and stumbling into the morning light

What is Mr. Lorry's profession and employer?

• He is a barrister at the Inns of Court who handles international legal disputes
• He is a senior banker at Tellson's Bank, which has branches in London and Paris
• He is a physician employed by the French government to inspect English prisons
• He is a diplomat attached to the British embassy who negotiates trade agreements

What does the word "funereal" mean in the description of Lucie's room as "furnished in a funereal manner with black horsehair"?

• Elaborately decorated in a style meant to impress wealthy and distinguished guests
• Having the somber, dark, mournful character appropriate to a funeral; gloomy and dismal
• Furnished in a traditional style that was popular during the previous century
• Arranged in a practical and efficient manner, with no concern for comfort or beauty

What recurring mental activity occupies Mr. Lorry as he waits by the fire?

• He reads and rereads a letter from Tellson's Bank containing his instructions
• His mind is "busily digging, digging, digging" in the live red coals
• He composes a speech rehearsing exactly how he will deliver his message to Lucie
• He sketches the face of Dr. Manette from memory, trying to recall his features

How old is Lucie Manette when she appears in this chapter?

• She is about twelve years old, still a child under the guardianship of Miss Pross
• She is in her mid-twenties, a mature woman who has been managing her own affairs
• She is a young lady of not more than seventeen, wearing a riding-cloak
• She is twenty-one and has just come of age, which triggered the Bank's notification

Which of these events actually happened in this chapter?

Why does Mr. Lorry present Dr. Manette's story as that of an anonymous bank "customer"?

• Because bank regulations strictly forbid disclosing a client's identity to third parties
• Because he is unsure whether Lucie is truly the doctor's daughter and wants to verify
• To soften the emotional blow and let Lucie absorb the shocking news gradually
• Because he fears government agents may be listening and wishes to protect the secret

How does Lucie deduce that Lorry's "customer" story is about her own father?

• She recognizes the initials on the letter Lorry accidentally reveals from his breast pocket
• She notices that Lorry describes the doctor as being from Beauvais, connecting it to her family name
• She recalls a dream she had as a child in which a man matching the description appeared to her
• She sees the Tellson's Bank seal on the documents and remembers it from her mother's papers

How long was Dr. Manette imprisoned before being found alive?

• Ten years, having been arrested shortly after Lucie's birth in Paris
• Fifteen years, corresponding to the time since Lorry last traveled from France
• Eighteen years, meaning Lucie has never met her father in her conscious memory
• Twenty years, the same length of time Lorry spent at Tellson's French branch

What does the word "pecuniary" mean when Lorry says he passes his life "turning an immense pecuniary Mangle"?

• Spiritual or moral, relating to the care of souls and matters of personal conscience
• Mechanical or industrial, relating to the operation of factory equipment and heavy machinery
• Relating to or consisting of money; financial in nature
• Political or governmental, relating to the administration of public institutions

What does Lucie say when she learns her father is alive?

• "I must go to him at once! Nothing in the world could keep me from his side!"
• "I am going to see his Ghost! It will be his Ghost -- not him!"
• "How can this be true? My mother told me he died before I was born!"
• "I have always known in my heart that he was alive somewhere, waiting for me!"

Which of these events actually happened in this chapter?

How does Miss Pross physically enter the scene?

• She knocks politely and enters with a curtsey, requesting permission to attend to Lucie
• She is already seated quietly in the corner when Lorry arrives and rises when Lucie faints
• She comes running in, lays a brawny hand on Lorry's chest, and sends him flying against the wall
• She calls out from the hallway and sends the inn servants in ahead of her with remedies

What does the coded phrase "Recalled to Life" refer to in Lorry's credentials?

• A secret plan by Tellson's Bank to recover stolen gold hidden during the French wars
• The mission to find and retrieve Dr. Manette, who has been found alive after secret imprisonment
• A banking term for reactivating dormant accounts left by deceased clients' heirs
• A message from the British government ordering the extraction of a political spy from Paris