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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Pages 20 -25 .

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the narrator trying to do at the start of the story?
(a) Write his grocery list.
(b) Break down the cost of an affair.
(c) Do his annual household budget.
(d) Negotiate a better salary.

2. Why was the narrator surprised by the question his lover asked him in bed?
(a) She promised she would not ask him that again.
(b) He had just told her how beautiful she was.
(c) He had literally just answered that question.
(d) He did not think she worried about herself like that.

3. What else did the narrator see in his dreams beyond the dark frame of empty space?
(a) A child.
(b) A garden.
(c) A bed.
(d) A house.

4. The narrator describes that after the affair ends, his lover is still inside him like what?
(a) Dark chocolate.
(b) Warm soup.
(c) Decadent dessert.
(d) Sweet liquor.

5. Who is the author of "Break It Down"?
(a) Lydia Davis.
(b) Danielle Lyons.
(c) Leslie Daniels.
(d) Lynn Donahue.

Short Answer Questions

1. After including the time spent with his lover and thinking of her, how much does the narrator estimate their affair costs per hour?

2. What does the narrator say he becomes afraid of as distance grows between the time spent with his lover and the present?

3. The narrator describes that after watching his lover sleep he finally falls asleep "lightly" (23). Why?

4. What is the narrator staring at at the start of "Break it Down"?

5. When the narrator describes watching his lover as she sleeps, what does he say that makes the reader know their time together is temporary?

(see the answer key)

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