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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why does the narrator say he felt he had to tell his lover that he loved her?
(a) He thought it would make her stay.
(b) He was drunk.
(c) It was bursting inside him.
(d) He wanted to scare her away.

2. What does the narrator think may have been the only bad time with his lover?
(a) When he told her he loved her.
(b) When he was too tired to make love.
(c) When she told him she was leaving him.
(d) When she asked if she was fat.

3. What was the narrator unable to tell his lover before he told her he loved her?
(a) He really hoped she felt the same.
(b) He had never loved anyone before her.
(c) He hoped it did not scare her away.
(d) She did not have to feel it was a burden.

4. What were the narrator and his lover doing when he first told her he loved her?
(a) Making love.
(b) Packing their things to go home.
(c) Taking a evening stroll.
(d) Having a drink.

5. What did the narrator's lover give to him before he left?
(a) A green and blue shirt.
(b) Cab fare.
(c) Her silk robe.
(d) A bottle of champagne.

6. What "comes after [the affair] and lasts longer" (30), according to the narrator?
(a) The peace.
(b) The regret.
(c) The joy.
(d) The pain.

7. What does the narrator do to try to numb the feelings after his affair?
(a) Paint.
(b) Read.
(c) Sing.
(d) Write.

8. If the narrator calculates the time spent thinking of his lover up to six weeks after the affair, how much does he figure he has spent?
(a) $6 an hour.
(b) $3 an hour.
(c) $24 an hour.
(d) $60 an hour.

9. What does the narrator say is all that is left of the relationship after the pictures and questions go away?
(a) A vast emptiness.
(b) A large heavy pain.
(c) A huge open space.
(d) An ocean of regret.

10. How does the narrator describe the way his lover responded when he told her he loved her?
(a) With compassion.
(b) A little harsh.
(c) Enthusiastically.
(d) A little flat.

11. What does the narrator worry he did to his lover by telling her he loved her?
(a) Made her dislike him.
(b) Scared her away.
(c) Trapped her into saying it back.
(d) Lied to her.

12. What does the narrator do to try to ease some of the feelings leftover from the affair?
(a) Go to public places to be around people.
(b) Visit family.
(c) Go out with friends.
(d) Take a class.

13. What do the "little questions" (26) the narrator begins to ask himself begin to do to him, as described in the text?
(a) Nag at him.
(b) Eat away at him.
(c) Make him see the affair for what it was.
(d) Confuse him.

14. How does the narrator describe how his impending pain looks in an open box in a window?
(a) Soft and malleable like clay.
(b) Hard and cold like metal.
(c) Sharp and pointy like a cactus.
(d) Warm and fuzzy like a puppy.

15. What did the narrator see as he walked way from the room for the last time?
(a) His lover walking away.
(b) His lover looking at him.
(c) The door closing.
(d) He lover blowing him a kiss.

Short Answer Questions

1. How was the narrator beginning to feel the day he had to leave?

2. Why does the narrator think he could not let himself fall completely in love with his lover?

3. What does the narrator cite as the other "bad time" (28) he and his lover had?

4. How often does the narrator figure he thinks of his lover about six weeks after their affair?

5. What sounds does the narrator say may remind him of his lover?

(see the answer keys)

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