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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who is Richard Madden?
(a) The man who wants to arrest Dr.Yu Tsun.
(b) A British statesman.
(c) A pilot for the RAF.
(d) An instructor for the VAF.

2. What is the Company?
(a) The group that runs the lottery.
(b) The bank.
(c) The lottery players.
(d) The merchant's guild.

3. What happens to Herbert Ashe in "Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius"?
(a) He dies.
(b) He is arrested.
(c) He breaks a mirror.
(d) He finds "The First Encyclopedia of Tlon."

4. What do the Purifiers burn?
(a) Ashes.
(b) The library.
(c) Inappropriate books.
(d) Library cards.

5. From what point of view is "The Approach of Al-Mu'tasim" written?
(a) Third person.
(b) Second person.
(c) Second person omniscient.
(d) First person.

6. Who approaches Dr. Stephen Albert's house while he and Dr. Yu Tsun are conversing?
(a) Richard Madden.
(b) Vietcong.
(c) Ts'ui Pen.
(d) British soldiers.

7. Who are the Purifiers?
(a) A group of authors.
(b) Guardians of the Crimson Hexagon.
(c) No one knows.
(d) A group that destroys inappropriate books.

8. Who is Miguel de Cervantes?
(a) The editor of Pierre Menard's manuscripts.
(b) The author of A Farewell to Arms.
(c) An Italian poet.
(d) The original author of Don Quixote.

9. What fear does the protagonist of "The Circular Ruins" have for his son?
(a) He will discover he is the product of a dream.
(b) The gods will steal him.
(c) He will die in a fire.
(d) He will disappear.

10. What does Ts'ui Pen wish to create before his death?
(a) An epic poem.
(b) A great labyrinth.
(c) A legacy.
(d) A great sculpture.

11. Which measurement system is discussed in one of Pierre Menard's manuscripts?
(a) Nautical.
(b) Metric.
(c) Imperial.
(d) Volume.

12. From what point of view is "The Garden of Forking Paths" written?
(a) Third person.
(b) First person.
(c) Second person omniscient.
(d) Second person.

13. What war is being fought in "The Garden of Forking Paths"?
(a) World War I.
(b) Korea.
(c) World War II.
(d) Vietnam.

14. Who is the student searching for in "The Approach to Al-Mu'tasim"?
(a) A saint who walks the Earth.
(b) The Hindu family.
(c) The blind astrologer.
(d) The Moslem family.

15. What is unusual about the characters in The Secret Mirror?
(a) They are siblings.
(b) They have all won the lottery.
(c) They do not actually exist.
(d) They are all silent.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is Al-Mu'tasim?

2. What does Dr. Stephen Albert believe is hidden in Ts'ui Pen's novel?

3. In what languages are the books of "The Library of Babel" written?

4. In "The Approach of Al-Mu'tasim," which character writes a detective novel?

5. What opinion does the narrator have of Herbert Quain's work?

(see the answer keys)

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