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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In "A Dialogue About a Dialogue," what interrupts the dialogue?
(a) A noise.
(b) The talkers run out of things to say.
(c) The narrator remembers he has to catch a train.
(d) One of the speakers becomes suddenly ill.

2. In "A Weary Man's Utopia," in what language does the narrator speak to the man from the future?
(a) English.
(b) Latin.
(c) Russian.
(d) Spanish.

3. In "The Book of Sand," what does the narrator do with the book at the end?
(a) He hides it in the National Library.
(b) He places it in a room of mirrors to endlessly replicate the book.
(c) He burns it.
(d) Though it is infinite, he magically reads it in his lifetime.

4. In "Borges and I," who are the two characters?
(a) Borges and an unknown narrator.
(b) Borges and his character John Vincent Moon.
(c) Borges and Edgar Allan Poe.
(d) Borges the writer, and the personal Borges.

5. In "Parable of Cervantes and Don Quixote," Cervantes can best be described as which of the following?
(a) Insane.
(b) Despondent, for he believes art is useless.
(c) Young and arrogant.
(d) Unaware of the future recognition of his fictional character, Don Quixote.

6. In "Guayaquil," what do the narrator and Professor Zimmerman compete for?
(a) A letter from Shakespeare to Anne Hathaway.
(b) A letter from Simon Bolivar.
(c) A recently discovered Poe short story.
(d) The head chair of their department.

7. In "Parable of the Palace," why does the Emperor execute the poet?
(a) His poetry is awful.
(b) His poetry is simply empty flattery of the Emperor, and the Emperor hates flatterers.
(c) For "stealing" his palace by capturing it in a poem.
(d) His poetry reveals the poets love of the Emperor's wife.

8. In "A Prayer," what is the narrator's attitude toward his prayer?
(a) He thinks it will make sure he is saved.
(b) He doesn't think much about it: he says the words with no thought.
(c) He repudiates it.
(d) He hopes it will give him worldly riches.

9. In "Shakespeare's Memory," what do Shakespeare's memories do for Hermann?
(a) Make him catatonic.
(b) Make him realize Shakespeare's inadequacy, and how Shakespeare had somehow duped countless millions into believing in his greatness.
(c) Allow him to become the reigning poet of the earth.
(d) Give him some very small success, but mostly overwhelm him.

10. In "Everything and Nothing," which of the following best describes Shakespeare?
(a) He believes he should have spent more time with his wife, and less time writing plays.
(b) His many imitators infuriate him.
(c) He is jealous of Ben Jonson.
(d) He has no personal identity other than that of the characters he creates.

11. In "The Sect of Thirty," the sect worships which Biblical figure?
(a) Judas.
(b) Cain.
(c) Ahab.
(d) Solomon.

12. In "Museum--On Exactitude in Science," how big are the maps of the Empire?
(a) They can only be seen with microscopes.
(b) As big as the Empire.
(c) The size of regular maps.
(d) The size of stamps.

13. In "Legend," what does Abel do to Cain?
(a) He flees from his presence.
(b) He never sees him, as Cain is in Hell.
(c) He murders Cain.
(d) He forgives him.

14. In "Avelino Arredondo," whom does Avelino murder?
(a) The Uruguayan President, Juan Borda.
(b) His wife.
(c) A rival in love.
(d) A heretic.

15. In "In Memoriam, JFK," JFK's assassination is similar to what event?
(a) An assassination that occurs in a mirror in a labyrinth.
(b) The exact same event on an alternate planet.
(c) The murder of the President of Uruguay in 1897.
(d) The details of an O'Henry short story.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "The Yellow Rose," what does Marino FINALLY think about his poetry?

2. In "Undr," what does the sacred word of the Urns mean?

3. What does the narrator hypothesize is the cause of the fight in "The Encounter"?

4. In "The Maker," the protagonist is what Greek writer?

5. In "Blue Tigers," what are the Blue Tigers?

(see the answer keys)

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