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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What concerto did Sacks listen to on a cassette tape?
(a) Dvorak's Cello Concerto in B Minor.
(b) Mozart's Flute Concerto No. 2 in D Major.
(c) Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto.
(d) Beethoven's Piano Concerto #5.

2. On one particular September morning, why did Sacks deeply enjoy lighting his pipe?
(a) He was a smoker.
(b) He saw the pipe as a sign of returning health.
(c) The pipe fit into the scenery and his mood.
(d) He thought he had never before had the leisure to light one.

3. As Sacks returned to his room, what was the weather like?
(a) Dark and stormy.
(b) Chilly and wet.
(c) Sunny and warm.
(d) Lightly snowing.

4. Why was it so difficult for Sacks to take the first step?
(a) His feet felt too heavy to lift.
(b) He felt that the physiotherapists were pressuring him.
(c) He had forgotten how to walk.
(d) He could not get his sense of balance.

5. What group of people did Weir Mitchell write about?
(a) Healthy Korean veterans.
(b) Wounded Civil War veterans.
(c) Wounded WWII veterans.
(d) The patients in his New York clinic.

6. Previous to his accident, how did Sacks think things were accomplished in the world?
(a) By sheer willpower.
(b) By external impetus.
(c) By love and understanding.
(d) By reason and will.

7. Why did Sacks sit looking out the window for hours on end?
(a) He was realizing how cut off from life he was.
(b) He was tired of his hospital room.
(c) He was eager to see other people.
(d) He was starved to look at anything green.

8. How much did Sacks walk the day after his second surgery?
(a) Half a dozen steps.
(b) Half a mile.
(c) Half the length of the hospital hallway.
(d) Not at all.

9. What instrument did Sacks have for listening to music?
(a) A small radio.
(b) A clarinet.
(c) An MP3 player.
(d) A record player.

10. How does a person suffering from alienation of a limb think about that part of his body?
(a) It seems to belong to someone else.
(b) He thinks of himself as whole but injured.
(c) It makes no sense to him.
(d) He does not think about that limb.

11. According to Kant, how does a man stand in relation to the world?
(a) In context of his unique personality.
(b) In his own experience.
(c) In the world's experience.
(d) In context of other people's experience.

12. What color did Head attribute to neurology?
(a) White.
(b) Green.
(c) Grey.
(d) Black.

13. How has Sacks always liked to think of himself?
(a) As a risk-taker.
(b) As an inventor.
(c) As an explorer.
(d) As a humanitarian.

14. What important concept did Sacks find in Kant's writing?
(a) A vivid concept of the body-ego connection.
(b) A living concept of time and space.
(c) A traditional concept of man's relation to the world.
(d) A modern concept of personhood.

15. What was scheduled for Wednesday the 11th?
(a) The temporary leg cast would be removed.
(b) Sacks would move from the hospital to the convalescent home.
(c) Sacks would get out of bed and walk.
(d) Therapy would become quite intense.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did Sacks hope to accomplish by reading Head's books?

2. How many days did Sacks spend in limbo?

3. As the Sister took the stitches out of Sacks's leg, what did he think?

4. Montaigne, Kant, and Einstein all agree that there is no substitute for what?

5. When did scotoma overwhelm Sacks the most?

(see the answer keys)

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