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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In grandmother's dream about her friend Nevart (described in "The Woman in Blue"), what was Nevart drinking?
(a) Beer.
(b) Whiskey.
(c) Rosewater.
(d) Tahn.

2. What town did Balakian's grandmother mention when she was discussing the death march, as he lay in bed sick?
(a) Der Zor.
(b) Constantinople.
(c) Aleppo.
(d) Diarbekir.

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

4. What baseball team did Peter and his grandmother root for?
(a) Chicago White Sox.
(b) New York Yankees.
(c) New York Mets.
(d) Philadelphia Phillies.

5. What color dress did Auntie Anna wear while delivering a talk at Balakian's college?
(a) Black.
(b) Red.
(c) Yellow.
(d) Blue.

6. What was the nickname of Arkayutiun, the soup Balakian ate while sick?
(a) Soup of Life.
(b) Soup of Love.
(c) Soup of Heaven.
(d) Soup of the Soul.

7. Where did the Ottoman Turks originally come from?
(a) China.
(b) Mongolia.
(c) Nepal.
(d) Tibet.

8. On how many hills was Constantinople built?
(a) Four.
(b) Ten.
(c) Seven.
(d) Six.

9. At what time did Balakian and his friend Ed Harrison routinely sneak out of their houses to explore the town?
(a) 3 a.m.
(b) Midnight.
(c) 1 a.m.
(d) 4 a.m.

10. How many months worth of canned evaporated milk were Americans advised to have on hand during the Cuban Missile Crisis?
(a) Six months.
(b) Twenty-four months.
(c) Twelve monhs.
(d) Eighteen months.

11. What instrument did Balakian's cousin Haigie play?
(a) Piano.
(b) Violin.
(c) Flute.
(d) Cello.

12. How many Crusades passed through Byzantium on the way to the Holy Land?
(a) Five.
(b) Three.
(c) Four.
(d) Two.

13. In what year did Balakian's father save the man having the heart attack at a Columbia game?
(a) 1955.
(b) 1956.
(c) 1958.
(d) 1960.

14. Why was Balakian's father unable to serve during World War II?
(a) Poor eyesight.
(b) High blood pressure.
(c) Poor hearing.
(d) A limp.

15. What kind of ice cream did grandmother buy Peter when they accidentally got off the subway in Harlem?
(a) Fudgsicle.
(b) Italian ice.
(c) Creamsicle.
(d) Popsicle.

Short Answer Questions

1. Approximately how many Armenians were slaughtered in Diarbekir in 1915?

2. What prize did William Saroyan turn down for his play, "The Time of Your Life," in 1943?

3. What is pakht?

4. What meat did the Balakian family frequently eat for dinner?

5. What anniversary was the Soviet Armenian Republic celebrating when Balakian's father wrote to his son at college urging him to learn more about the country?

(see the answer keys)

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