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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 5.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What word used by the author in Chapter 5 refers to a thing that represents or stands for something else?
(a) Metaphor.
(b) Simile.
(c) Symbol.
(d) Protagonist.

2. The author writes in Chapter 5, "Exactly why we survive and can look back with furrowed brow is" what?
(a) "Meaningful."
(b) "Elusive."
(c) "Beyond me."
(d) "Inexorable."

3. Whom did Serena Williams play in her semifinal matchup in the 2004 Women's U.S. Open?
(a) Venus Williams.
(b) Jennifer Capriati.
(c) Glenn Ligon.
(d) Mariana Alves.

4. How many police cars arrived when the author's friend was harassed while babysitting for her in Chapter 1?
(a) 4.
(b) 6.
(c) 10.
(d) 2.

5. What does the author say sighing does in Chapter 4?
(a) It upsets.
(b) It encourages.
(c) It entices.
(d) It elicits sympathy.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does the woman at the cafe tell the author her son was not accepted at the college of her choice in Chapter 1?

2. What film does the author describe seeing with a friend in Chapter 1?

3. Who is the performer who invented the persona of Hennessy Youngman?

4. In Chapter 3, the author describes Judith Baker discussing what makes language hurtful. She writes that Baker's response is "We suffer from the condition of being" what?

5. What does the ocean do regarding the "blues it can't absorb" in Chapter 5?

(see the answer key)

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