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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Sacks climbed a particular stretch of ground in just over an hour. How long did it take him to descend this same stretch?
(a) Half an hour.
(b) Three hours.
(c) Nearly seven hours.
(d) Two hours.

2. How long did it take Sacks to reach the final understanding of his various thoughts?
(a) Half a year.
(b) Nearly a decade.
(c) One year.
(d) Several years.

3. What would happen if Sacks were not found by nightfall?
(a) He would most likely go crazy.
(b) He would freeze to death.
(c) The bull would trample him to death.
(d) He would die of blood loss.

4. Why did Sacks write to A. R. Luria?
(a) Luria was a close family friend.
(b) He was not getting satisfactory answers from his own doctor.
(c) He wanted reassurance about writing his book.
(d) Luria was the leading neuropsychologist in the United States.

5. When Nurse Solveig returned to take out Sacks's thermometer, what emotion did she convey?
(a) Disinterest.
(b) Concern.
(c) Rage.
(d) Pity.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why did Sacks dedicate his book to Luria?

2. After he fell, what story did Sacks recall the villagers telling him?

3. How is the material in the last chapter presented?

4. Shortly after the sun set, what extraordinary auditory experience did Sacks have?

5. What time of day did Sacks awake from his feverish delirium?

Short Essay Questions

1. What differences exist between the 1993 edition of the book and the previous editions? Without having read the previous edition, do you think these changes are positive?

2. What meals does Sacks describe most from his time in the hospital? What do these meals say about his frame of mind at each time?

3. What advice did Sacks's maiden aunt give him? How does this advice come across on the printed page?

4. Sacks notes that "body-image is dynamic and plastic" (Afterword, pg 194). What does this mean?

5. What is the literary effect of Sacks's description of his injury? Why do you think the injury is not detailed later?

6. All of Chapter Five is devoted to the moment Sacks took his first step. What literary effect does this have on the book?

7. What happened after Sacks tried to catch the bus outside the Kilburn pool? How did this exactly match his previous experiences?

8. How does the quote at the beginning of Chapter Four compare to Sacks's own words which begin the chapter?

9. What does the detail from Sacks's journal explain? How does this excerpt capture the split between doctor and patient, which is captured in one person?

10. With what quote does Sacks begin Chapter Three? How does this set the tone for the entire chapter?

(see the answer keys)

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