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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In "Pedro Salvadores," Pedro belongs to which party?
(a) The Unitarian party.
(b) The Aristotlean Thinkers.
(c) The Nazi party.
(d) The Whigs.

2. In "Avelino Arredondo," to what does Avelino belong?
(a) The Calvinists.
(b) The Red party.
(c) The White Party.
(d) A shadowy cabal.

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

4. In "The Maker," what does the father give the protagonist when he is a boy?
(a) A knife.
(b) An emerald.
(c) A shield.
(d) A book of poetry.

5. What idea is the main concern of "Paradiso, XXXI, 108"?
(a) The absolute misery of life.
(b) Giving a detailed description of Heaven.
(c) Experiencing and seeing God.
(d) Putting forth an analysis of Dante.

6. In "Delia Elena San Marco," what does the narrator wonder after the death of his beloved?
(a) If her death was more painful than she let on.
(b) Whether he can speak to her soul again.
(c) Why he ever loved her in the first place.
(d) If she secretly despised him.

7. In "August 25, 1983," what hotel room does Borges go to?
(a) 19.
(b) 63.
(c) 49.
(d) The room is numberless.

8. To whom is "There are More Things" dedicated?
(a) Shakespeare.
(b) Ovid.
(c) H.P. Lovecraft.
(d) Edgar Allan Poe.

9. In "The Other," who does a 70-year-old Borges converse with?
(a) Virgil.
(b) Edgar Allan Poe.
(c) An 18year-old version of himself.
(d) His immortal soul.

10. 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 burns it.
(c) Though it is infinite, he magically reads it in his lifetime.
(d) He places it in a room of mirrors to endlessly replicate the book.

11. In "A Weary Man's Utopia," how old is the man from the future?
(a) 3, with scientific advances, humans reach maturity extremely early.
(b) 100.
(c) 35.
(d) 400.

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

13. In "Brodie's Report," who are the Yahoos?
(a) Borges's pet name for his extended family.
(b) A type of wild man living in the forset among the ape men.
(c) People who are overly enthusiastic.
(d) A society of scholars who study Swift..

14. What is the event in "The Elderly Lady"?
(a) Christmas.
(b) Her 90th birthday.
(c) Her 100th birthday.
(d) The Day of the Dead.

15. In "The Bribe," what does Professor Einarrson write?
(a) An analysis of Wordsworth.
(b) A fawning tribute to Dr. Winthrop.
(c) A letter that is in direct opposition to Dr. Winthrop's views.
(d) A lone volume of an encyclopedia.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. In "The Congress," why does the Congress fall apart?

3. In "The Rose of Paracelsus," what does the young man want Paracelsus to do?

4. In "Guayaquil," what do the narrator and Professor Zimmerman compete for?

5. In "A Prayer," what is the narrator's attitude toward his prayer?

(see the answer keys)

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