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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. What dream did Daniel have the night before his public recitation of pi?

2. Who becomes Daniel's closest friend in Lithuania?

3. Six months after meeting Neil, what does Daniel do?

4. When Daniel has an interview with the Voluntary Services Overseas organization, what is his main goal in doing so?

5. When Daniel is interrupted during the interview with a question, what is his first reaction?

Short Essay Questions

1. When Daniel returns to his family's new home after a year in Lithuania, why must he readjust to living there?

2. Describe Daniel's state of mind as he recited pi for an audience for more than five hours.

3. Why is Daniel so enthralled with pi?

4. Why did Daniel spend his first weekend in Kaunas inside his new apartment?

5. Why did the scientists in California ask if Daniel could visit with them longer?

6. What aspects of language does Daniel find more difficult than others to understand?

7. What is Daniel's relationship with words?

8. Scientists are beginning to question whether Daniel's ability with language extends to other forms of language, such as sign language. What happens when he is tested for this?

9. Why was Daniel unhappy and somewhat anxious when the producers first revealed to him their choice of language he would learn?

10. When Daniel goes on an interview for a library position, why does he most likely not get the job?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Daniel is diagnosed with epilepsy as a young child. How has this affected him throughout his life? Did it have any effect on his family? Do you believe his grandfather's diagnosis was a contributing factor to his diagnosis? Do you think the epilepsy helped cause his savant abilities or vice versa?

Essay Topic 2

Pi is the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. Daniel (as well as many others) is fascinated with pi. It is an infinite, irrational number. Daniel spends a chapter in the book explaining pi and his relationship with it. Why do you think this fascinates him? Does he see pi in the same way that he experiences other numbers and words? Why, besides raising money for epilepsy research, does Daniel learn pi to some many decimal places at all?

Essay Topic 3

Daniel meets his partner, Neil, on the internet. What is it about the computer that makes life so much easier for him? Why does he and others on the autistic spectrum find communication on the internet reassuring? How does the computer become one of his life's focuses?

(see the answer keys)

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