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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How does the author respond when a friend says in Chapter 3, "You are always on sabbatical"?
(a) "I am not."
(b) "Why not?"
(c) "Easy."
(d) "I've never taken sabbatical."

2. Why does the woman at the cafe tell the author her son was not accepted at the college of her choice in Chapter 1?
(a) Because of his failing grades.
(b) Because of his lack of extracurricular activities.
(c) Because of his lack of ambition.
(d) Because of affirmative action.

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

4. What does the word "fabricate" mean in Chapter 4?
(a) To deplete.
(b) To sew.
(c) To deceive or lie.
(d) To conjure or invent.

5. What does the world say about memory and the past, according to the author in Chapter 4?
(a) To question it.
(b) To embrace it.
(c) To analyze it.
(d) To forget it.

6. When does the author first describe watching the Women's U.S. Open final in Chapter 2?
(a) 2007.
(b) 2011.
(c) 2009.
(d) 2013.

7. What does the "woman with multiple degrees" say she didn't know black women could get, in Chapter 3?
(a) The flu.
(b) Cancer.
(c) Tuberculosis.
(d) Jobs.

8. Who is the researcher that came up with the term "John Henryism"?
(a) Chris Marker.
(b) Glenn Ligon.
(c) Sherman James.
(d) Mariana Alves.

9. What does the author's friend say when the author is questioned by the cashier in Chapter 3?
(a) Nothing.
(b) "Who are you to ask?"
(c) "Back off."
(d) "What is your problem?"

10. The author writes in Chapter 4 that the past has "turned your flesh into its own" what?
(a) "Table."
(b) "Cupboard."
(c) "Slate."
(d) "Blackboard."

11. The author writes in Chapter 1, "You are reminded of a conversation you had recently, comparing the merits of sentences constructed implicitly with 'yes, and' rather than" what?
(a) "No."
(b) "No, but."
(c) "Yes, but."
(d) "No, and."

12. The author writes in Chapter 3, "After considering Butler's remarks, you begin to understand yourself as rendered" what?
(a) "Hyper-visible in the face of such language acts."
(b) "Infuriated by the examples of injustice."
(c) "Silent by the greed of others."
(d) "Entrapped by the fact of race."

13. What is the name of Hennessy Youngman's internet series that the author discusses in Chapter 2?
(a) "Wonderworks."
(b) "Life Rules."
(c) "Web Rulez."
(d) "Art Thoughtz."

14. What does the author describe the man at the cash register asking her in Chapter 3?
(a) Whether she thinks her card will work.
(b) Whether she is a writer.
(c) Whether she would like to pay by cash or credit.
(d) Whether she will be dining in.

15. What word from Chapter 3 means lacking normal clarity or intelligibility in speech or thought?
(a) Incoherent.
(b) Inexorable.
(c) Astute.
(d) Articulate.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the author claim the world says not to wear in the house in Chapter 4?

2. Where does the author describe being when she confronts a man for calling a group of teenagers "niggers" in Chapter 1?

3. The author writes in Chapter 1, "If this were a domestic tragedy, and it might well be, this would be your fatal flaw." What is the fatal flaw she describes?

4. What tennis tournament have the Williams sisters boycotted since 2001?

5. Rankine opens Chapter 4 with the statement that "To live through the days sometimes you moan like" what?

(see the answer keys)

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