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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Where is McGuire A.F.B. located?
(a) California
(b) Georgia
(c) Kansas
(d) New Jersey

2. What does the narrator describe to the blind man as the things that are tormenting the monks on the television show?
(a) Ghosts
(b) Bears
(c) Skeletons
(d) Tigers

3. What do the narrator and his wife offer the blind man as they smoke marijuana in the story?
(a) More pie
(b) A blanket
(c) A pillow
(d) A cup of coffee

4. Where did the narrator’s wife fall asleep after overdosing on pills while at Travis A.F.B.?
(a) In the basement
(b) In the garage
(c) On the patio
(d) In the bathtub

5. In what year was the anthology entitled Cathedral published?
(a) 1947
(b) 1983
(c) 1974
(d) 1962

6. In what year was “Cathedral” chosen to appear in The Best American Short Stories?
(a) 1991
(b) 1982
(c) 1975
(d) 1987

7. Where did Raymond Carver earn his Bachelor of Arts degree?
(a) Oregon State University
(b) Humboldt State College
(c) University of Nevada, Reno
(d) Evergreen State University

8. The narrator says, “I remembered having read somewhere that the blind didn’t smoke because, as speculation had it, they couldn’t” what?
(a) See the smoke they exhaled
(b) Fully share the pleasure of it
(c) Avoid burning their faces
(d) Tell how other people did it

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) Upstairs
(c) To the bathroom
(d) To the basement

10. Where does the narrator’s wife go to pick up her blind friend who comes to visit?
(a) The airport
(b) The train station
(c) A museum
(d) The bus station

11. What is the name of the blind man’s wife who recently passed away in the story?
(a) Christine
(b) Beulah
(c) Melissa
(d) Maria

12. What term, often used to characterize Raymond Carver’s writing, refers to a style in which the seamier or more mundane aspects of ordinary life are presented in unadorned language?
(a) Authentic virtue
(b) Dirty realism
(c) Shocking truth
(d) Pristine fiction

13. The narrator says in the beginning of the story, “My idea of blindness came from” what?
(a) Word of mouth
(b) Magazines
(c) The movies
(d) Church sermons

14. What was the last part of the blind man’s tape that the narrator heard when his wife played it for him?
(a) You can certainly do better
(b) I can picture the type
(c) From all you’ve said about him, I can only conclude—
(d) He sounds like a great man

15. What does the narrator say causes him problems sleeping?
(a) Dreams
(b) His wife’s snoring
(c) A bad smell
(d) A sore throat

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the narrator suggest to his wife he could do when the blind man comes to visit, causing her exasperation?

2. What word from the story refers to a bridge for carrying a road or railway across a valley, consisting of a set of arches supported by a row of piers or towers?

3. When does the narrator say his wife was to marry her fiancé when she worked for the blind man?

4. Where does the blind man put his hand as the narrator begins to draw in the story?

5. How long does the narrator say he’s been in his current position (of employment) when asked by the blind man?

(see the answer keys)

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