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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "The Mouse," at what hotel did Gamini stay when he was recovering from exhaustion?

2. In "The Mouse," when Gamini was a boy, what time of day would he take his father a drink in his office?

3. In "Between Heartbeats," when Gamini was working in the north, what time would a rooster start crowing?

4. In "Between Heartbeats," what does Anil remember made Cullis fall in love with her?

5. In "Between Heartbeats," where does Sarath tell Anil that he was selected to go and study for a year?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did Gamini do shortly after his wife left their marriage?

2. In "Between Heartbeats," how poor were people in the village where there was a massacre?

3. How did Sareth's wife die?

4. What type of cases did Gamini see when he worked at the base hospital at Polonnaruwa during his last year in the northeast?

5. In "Ananda," after Arankale was deserted for 400 years, what was it like when humans returned?

6. In "Ananda," what happens when Sarath, Anil, and Ananda are stopped at a roadblock?

7. In "The Mouse," how long had Gamini and the other doctors he worked with in the northeast worked there and how long had they planned to work there?

8. What did Sareth work on in China?

9. What is the history of the place where Sarath, Anil, and Ananda say in Ekneligoda?

10. What surgery was Gamini working on in "Between Heartbeats," when victims of a massacre were brought to the hospital?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Palipana settles in the Grove of Ascetics, a place that was once home to ascetics. What type of lifestyle is lived by ascetics? What type of lifestyle is Palipana living when Anil meets him? Why does Palipana chose that place and that lifestyle at the end of his life?

Essay Topic 2

The novel takes place in Sri Lanka during a civil war. In what way does the setting almost take on the role of a character? How does the setting evoke feelings in readers and set the tone in the novel?

Essay Topic 3

The novel takes place during Sri Lanka’s civil war. What is revealed about the uselessness of war? What is the role of war in the novel? What does war symbolize?

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