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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does the narrator know will happen each day he spends with his lover?
(a) They will end up in bed together.
(b) They will have a fancy dinner.
(c) They will have an argument.
(d) She will stop talking to him.

2. How did the narrator feel when his lover talked "late in the night...faster and faster" (25)?
(a) He was annoyed because he wanted to sleep.
(b) He felt glad their trip was coming to an end.
(c) He loved it and felt energized by it.
(d) He liked it but was too tired to understand what she was talking about.

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

4. What is the narrator beginning to "lose" (24) in the present regarding his lover?
(a) His love for her.
(b) His understanding of what he saw in her.
(c) The feeling of being with her.
(d) HIs desire to see her again.

5. What was the narrator unsure he would be able to do without his lover?
(a) Get a good job.
(b) Go on living.
(c) Save any money.
(d) Go on more vacations.

6. How is the narrator's lover's behavior described at the start of the story?
(a) She was often quiet and distant.
(b) She was always smiling and singing.
(c) She was loud and obnoxious.
(d) She was moody and mercurial.

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

8. How much does the narrator calculate his love making cost?
(a) $33-$50 an hour.
(b) $15 - 20 an hour.
(c) $3 or $4 an hour.
(d) $80-$100 an hour.

9. What is one of the "little questions" (25) the narrator began asking himself regarding his time with his lover?
(a) Why did she have the light on when he came to bed some nights and off others.
(b) Why did she touch his arm when he spoke sometimes but not others.
(c) Why did she laugh at his jokes sometimes and not others.
(d) Why did she become so distant over time.

10. How did the narrator respond to the surprising question his lover asked him in bed one day?
(a) He said a diet would not hurt.
(b) He said her body was beautiful.
(c) He said she should do whatever she wants.
(d) He told her to stop asking silly questions.

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

12. How much was the plane ticket the narrator bought?
(a) $1,000.
(b) $150.
(c) $600.
(d) $950.

13. How often did the narrator and his lover make love during their time together?
(a) Every other day.
(b) Twice a day.
(c) Once a day.
(d) Once a week.

14. What is the narrator staring at at the start of "Break it Down"?
(a) A blank computer screen.
(b) A cup of coffee.
(c) A piece of paper.
(d) His cell phone.

15. What word is used to describe the way the narrator's lover responded to his answer to the question she asked him in bed?
(a) Calmly.
(b) Intelligently.
(c) Quietly.
(d) Sharply.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the "very clean white place" (24) the narrator recalls being with his lover?

2. What "old" (22) thing does the narrator say he cannot look at without still feeling what he feels his lover?

3. What question does the narrator recall his lover asking him while they were in bed one day?

4. How many hours a day does the narrator estimate he spends either with his lover or thinking of her during their time together?

5. Why does the narrator decide against kissing his lover's eyelids as he watches her sleep?

(see the answer keys)

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