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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. What was the lowest mark Balakian's female relatives gave to the houses they viewed during their Sunday drives?
(a) Ugly.
(b) F.
(c) Next.
(d) Hum hum.

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

3. Where had Balakian learned the stories of the Bible?
(a) Armenian church.
(b) From his Jewish friends.
(c) Within the family.
(d) Armenian Sunday school.

4. What singer did the man in the motorcycle jacket on the bus remind Peter of?
(a) Elvis Presley.
(b) Jerry Lee Lewis.
(c) Roy Orbison.
(d) Buddy Holly.

5. Where were Balakian and his father when the young woman spoke to the father about leaving her abusive husband?
(a) Oregon.
(b) Washington.
(c) California.
(d) Idaho.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the phrase, "Mairig Asdvadzadzeen," mean?

2. Who was driving when the young men crashed the car in the middle of the night, in "Saturday Autumn II"?

3. What does the name Arax mean?

4. Where did Franklin Delano Roosevelt attend prep school?

5. Whom did Saroyan consider his "rival"?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the Wall family, who were Balakian's neighbors in Tenafly.

2. What did the phrase "the old country" mean to Balakian as a child?

3. How did Balakian's family's attachment to food reflect their ancestors' history?

4. How did Balakian's school term paper on Turkey mark a turning point in his relationship with his father?

5. Why was Balakian so unnerved by his grandmother's constant doting on him at family gatherings?

6. How did Balakian's mother differ from most of the other mothers on Crabtree Lane in Tenafly?

7. Why did Balakian's father insist his son leave the public schools and attend a private school?

8. What was Balakian's reaction to the film, The Graduate?

9. Did Balakian's father have a strong connection to Constantinople, and how did that reflect the city's tumultuous history?

10. Why was Balakian's Aunt Anna so opposed to American suburbia?

(see the answer keys)

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