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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In "The Improbable Impostor Tom Castro," how does Tom make a living after he gets out of jail?
(a) Having learned the law from his trial, he becomes a lawyer.
(b) He writes a bestselling book on how to impersonate.
(c) He gives speeches to audiences arguing either that he is innocent or guilty.
(d) He sells rare coins.

2. In "The Zahir," what is his lover's sister obsessed with?
(a) A Blue Tiger.
(b) Hats.
(c) Clouds.
(d) A coin.

3. In "The Immortal," which of the following best describes the result of attaining immortality?
(a) It does not really change anything.
(b) It is wonderful, for wisdom and pleasure can be endlessly pursued.
(c) Because man's life is no longer finite, he loses motivation, and degenerates into a base creature.
(d) It is pure torture; humans truthfully crave their own death.

4. In "The Aleph," what is the Aleph?
(a) The key to translating an unknown language.
(b) A mystical portal to visions of the past and present.
(c) A sword said to have belonged to Saladin.
(d) A strange bird.

5. In "The Story of the Warrior and the Captive Maiden," what is the attitude of the English woman who has married an Indian?
(a) She feigns assimilation with the Indians, but is still quite English.
(b) She is thoroughly Indian herself now.
(c) She despises Indians.
(d) She has gone mad.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "The End," what instrument does the black man play outside Recabarren's bar?

2. In "The Man on the Threshold," how is the story the narrator hears relevant?

3. In "Death and the Compass," where is Dr. Yarmolinsky killed?

4. In "Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius," what is Tlon?

5. What does the sorcerer discover at the end of "The Circular Ruins"?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the theme in "The Mirror of Ink."

2. In "The Immortal," what is the result of immortality?

3. In "The Aleph," what is the narrator's attitude toward Carlos Argentino?

4. In "The End," does the black man who plays his guitar and continually waits outside the bar get what he has been waiting for?

5. In "The Circular Ruins," a man creates another man in a dream and ultimately discovers that he is a dream himself. Is Borges making a possible connection to the artistic process?

6. In "House of Asterion," is there anything sympathetic about Asterion?

7. "The Two Kings and the Two Labyrinths" ends with the words, "Glory to Him who does not die." Who is the one "who does not die," and what is the reason for this invocation?

8. In "The Library of Babel," the imaginary library of the title is an allusion to the Tower of Babel. How is this appropriate?

9. In "The Widow Ching--Pirate," Ching becomes a pirate, but does she have any virtuous qualities, even in this criminal profession?

10. What does "Story of the Warrior and the Captive Maiden" say about the nature of human identity?

(see the answer keys)

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