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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. What does the sorcerer discover at the end of "The Circular Ruins"?
(a) He has been sleeping too much.
(b) Dreams aren't that important.
(c) That he himself is a dream.
(d) He is a jaguar.

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

3. In "Emma Zunz," why did Emma's father commit suicide?
(a) He had an incurable disease.
(b) The crimes of Aaron Lowenthal.
(c) Bankruptcy.
(d) General despair.

4. In "The Secret Miracle," what happens to extend Hladik's life for a time?
(a) God freezes time for a year.
(b) Due to a paperwork mistake, another man is killed instead of Hladik, and the mistake is not uncovered for some time.
(c) Hladik is able to escape for a while.
(d) The Nazi's decide to postpone the execution.

5. In "The Man on the Threshold," how is the story the narrator hears relevant?
(a) The narrator discovers he is out of his jurisdiction.
(b) The past event exactly mirrors the fate of the judge.
(c) The story informs the narrator that the disappearance of the judge is just a hoax.
(d) The narrator discovers an important family secret.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Funes, His Memory," what does the narrator lend Funes?

2. In "The Widow Ching--Pirate," what occupation does Ching decide on, after she gives up pirating?

3. In "The House of Asterion," Asterion lives in a place that can best be described as which of the following?

4. In "Man on the Pink Corner," what does Rosendo do after the fight with the Yardmaster?

5. In "The House of Asterion," Asterion is what mythological creature?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "Emma Zunz," how does Emma exact revenge on Lowenthal for her father's death?

2. In "The Dead Man," why does Bandeira allow Otalora to sleep with his woman and enjoy a sense of power?

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

4. "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?

5. In "A Biography of Tadeo Isidoro Cruz (1829-1874)," what makes Tadeo decide to fight for Martin Fierro, the man he pursues?

6. 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?

7. In "Man on the Pink Corner," why does Rosendo disappear and then come back when challenged by the Yardmaster?

8. In "A Theologian in Death," what is Melancthon's doctrine and what are the implications of this doctrine?

9. In "The Lottery in Babylon," what could the lottery symbolize?

10. In "Ibn-Hakam-Al Bokhari, Murdered in his Labyrinth," according to Unwin, why did Sa'id truly steal the treasure, and what are the implications of this motivation?

(see the answer keys)

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