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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is berek?
(a) A pistachio dessert.
(b) Cheese-filled filo triangles.
(c) Kebabs.
(d) A rice dish.

2. To what town was Balakian taking his girlfriend when he refused to return home for his grandmother's memorial service?
(a) Boston.
(b) Cambridge.
(c) Amherst.
(d) Princeton.

3. What stock did grandmother recommend buying after she had a dream?
(a) IBM.
(b) GE.
(c) NBC.
(d) AT&T.

4. In what year did the Columbia Lions win the Rose Bowl?
(a) 1934.
(b) 1931.
(c) 1938.
(d) 1940.

5. What book caused a racial flareup among the football players during Balakian's freshmen year at college?
(a) The Autobiography of Malcolm X.
(b) Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man.
(c) Eldridge Cleaver's Soul on Ice.
(d) W.E.B. DuBois' The Souls of Black Folk.

6. What does the phrase, "Mairig Asdvadzadzeen," mean?
(a) Son of God.
(b) Holy Ghost.
(c) Holy Spirit.
(d) Mother of God.

7. About how many words did the World Book encyclopedia have on Armenia when Balakian tried to research his culture?
(a) 400.
(b) 200.
(c) 500.
(d) 100.

8. How old was Peter Balakian when his aunts began taking him on the house-viewing expeditions?
(a) Eleven.
(b) Ten.
(c) Eight.
(d) Five.

9. In what year did the author's family move to Tenafly, New Jersey?
(a) 1960.
(b) 1962.
(c) 1963.
(d) 1958.

10. At what age did Peter Balakian begin attending Columbia football games with his father?
(a) Two.
(b) Seven.
(c) Five.
(d) Ten.

11. What junk food did Balakian reminisce about eating at the Dillstein's house?
(a) Devil Dogs.
(b) Hostess Cupcakes.
(c) Mallomars.
(d) Ding-Dongs.

12. Whose voice did Balakian describe as hitting him "as broken glass under a tire"?
(a) Bob Dylan.
(b) Roy Orbison.
(c) Elvis Presley.
(d) Jackie Wilson.

13. What Biblical figure were the Jewish boys arguing about during the baseball game in "An Armenian Jew in Suburbia"?
(a) Joshua's wife.
(b) Abraham's wife.
(c) Noah's wife.
(d) Moses' wife.

14. In what year was Balakian sick with the measles?
(a) 1965.
(b) 1959.
(c) 1962.
(d) 1963.

15. According to Armenian legend, what animal was Adam's first companion in the Garden of Eden?
(a) Tiger.
(b) Snake.
(c) Elk.
(d) Musk ox.

Short Answer Questions

1. What town did Balakian's grandmother mention when she was discussing the death march, as he lay in bed sick?

2. What is the name of the torte made with shredded wheat?

3. What was the name of the private school Balakian was made to attend for high school?

4. What popular song was played at Lenny Cohen's bar mitzvah?

5. What was Balakian's temperature when he was delirious with the measles?

(see the answer keys)

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