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

2. What does the narrator think may happen if he kisses his lovers eyelids?
(a) She will wake up and yell at him.
(b) She will punch him.
(c) She will wake up and kiss him.
(d) She will frown in her sleep.

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

4. 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 moody and mercurial.
(d) She was loud and obnoxious.

5. What does the narrator note about his lover as he looks at her in bed when he first wakes?
(a) How good her skin is.
(b) Her perfect lips.
(c) Her long eyelashes.
(d) The sheen of her hair.

Short Answer Questions

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

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

3. How did the narrator respond to the surprising question his lover asked him in bed one day?

4. What "keeps happening" (21) between the narrator and his lover while they are together all day, which he says "adds up" (21)?

5. What was the narrator unsure he would be able to do without his lover?

Short Essay Questions

1. The narrator describes a moment in bed when his lover talked nonstop late into the night, her mouth close to his ear. How did he feel during that time?

2. What does the narrator note about his lover's skin when he talks about waking up and looking at her?

3. Describe the narrators dream, which he has lying beside his lover.

4. Based on what the narrator says he spent in the first few paragraphs, what did he and his lover do during their trip?

5. What is the narrator trying to break down at the start of the story?

6. What are the feelings the narrator experiences when he starts to lose the feeling of being with his lover?

7. How much does the narrator first say the cost of their love making was each hour?

8. What type of questions does the narrator say he begins to ask himself after "the pictures start to go" (25) of his time with his lover?

9. How does the narrator describe his lover's behavior during the time they spend together before making love?

10. How do the feelings about the narrator's affair linger after it ends at first?

(see the answer keys)

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