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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 2 — Things Fall Apart.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How old was Alice Hobson when she was widowed?
(a) 72.
(b) 56.
(c) 41.
(d) 88.

2. What does Gawande say he and his fellow doctors hoped to do for Joseph Lazaroff?
(a) Demonstrate heroism in trying to save his life.
(b) Manage his condition.
(c) Provide an easy death.
(d) Cure him.

3. What does Gawande say is the first part of the brain to shrink with aging?
(a) Occipital lobe.
(b) Temporal lobe.
(c) Frontal lobe.
(d) Parietal lobe.

4. What does Gawande say he and his fellow doctors never touched on, in talking about Lazaroff’s condition with him?
(a) The cost of the treatment.
(b) The reality of his disease.
(c) The likelihood the treatment would fail.
(d) The side effects to chemotherapy.

5. What does Gawande say is the biggest difference between how people age today and how they used to age?
(a) They used to be much more private.
(b) They used to be cared for in multi-generational systems.
(c) They used to die much earlier.
(d) They used to be much more independent.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Gawande say we do not have “the kind of old age” our grandfathers had (20)?

2. How does Gawande characterize family expectations, in regard to caring for elders?

3. What was Gawande’s father’s profession?

4. What functions are affected by this first shrinking of the brain?

5. What does Gawande say life expectancy was in the Roman Empire?

(see the answer key)

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