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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 describe as “little statues carved to look like monsters”?
(a) Gargoyles
(b) Trolls
(c) Vampires
(d) Phantoms

2. What word from the story refers to a hooded garment worn by monks?
(a) Kimono
(b) Mukluk
(c) Cowl
(d) Anorak

3. Where does the narrator sit when he returns to the living room with a pen and paper?
(a) On the floor
(b) In a chair
(c) On the table
(d) On the sofa

4. At the end of the story, the narrator says, “I was in my house. I knew that. But I didn’t feel like I was” what?
(a) Inside anything
(b) Physically there
(c) Imagining anything
(d) In my right mind

5. The blind man tells the narrator as he continues his drawing of the cathedral, “You got it, bub. I can tell. You didn’t think you could. But you can, can’t you? You’re cooking with” what?
(a) Grease
(b) Dry tinder
(c) Gas now
(d) Charcoal

6. The blind man discusses his ham radio operator friends in “Guam, in the Philippines, in Alaska, and even” where?
(a) Poland
(b) Tahiti
(c) Australia
(d) Bolivia

7. What drink does the blind man ask for when the narrator offers him one after his arrival?
(a) Rum
(b) Scotch
(c) Vodka
(d) Tequila

8. In what city did the blind man’s wife die?
(a) Sacramento
(b) Springfield
(c) Seattle
(d) San Antonio

9. Where does the narrator go to find a pen and paper when the blind man suggests it at night?
(a) To the nursery
(b) To the basement
(c) Upstairs
(d) To the bathroom

10. What did the blind man ask the narrator’s wife if he could do on her last day working for him?
(a) Read a book to him
(b) Touch her face
(c) Hear her sing
(d) Kiss her on the cheek

11. When was Raymond Carver’s short story collection Will You Please Be Quiet, Please? Published?
(a) 1969
(b) 1985
(c) 1976
(d) 1980

12. What is playing on the television as the narrator’s wife exits upstairs in the story?
(a) Entertainment news
(b) A game show
(c) A late-night comedy show
(d) The weather report

13. What does the blind man instruct the narrator to do after he’s almost completed the drawing of the cathedral?
(a) To open his mind
(b) To say a prayer
(c) To close his eyes
(d) To close his mouth

14. What do the narrator and his wife drink when they sit down to talk with the blind man after he’s arrived?
(a) Scotch
(b) Brandy
(c) Absinthe
(d) Tequila

15. Along what river does the narrator describe the train going on the route from his home to New York?
(a) The Hudson River
(b) The Niagara River
(c) The Green River
(d) The Snake River

Short Answer Questions

1. According to the narrator, his wife had helped the blind man organize his little office where when she worked for him?

2. In what periodical did “Cathedral” first appear?

3. What are in the bottom of the shopping bag that the narrator gathers for the blind man at night?

4. What instruction does the blind man give to the narrator as he draws the cathedral in the story?

5. What color is all of the blind man’s attire when he arrives?

(see the answer keys)

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