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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 do all the cars Ballard drives remind him of?
(a) The current drivers and passengers.
(b) The previous drivers and passengers.
(c) The would-be drivers and passengers.
(d) The dead drivers and passengers.

2. Why did Ballard have his safety belt on when leaving his secretary, Renata, before the crash?
(a) To prevent being injured should he get into a car crash.
(b) To avoid her the embarrassment of having to embrace him.
(c) To prevent him from the temptation of crashing into another car.
(d) To avoid getting a ticket from the police.

3. When Ballard is lifted onto the stretcher after the crash, how does he feel?
(a) Aroused at seeing the young wife.
(b) Relieved that he wasn't seriously injured.
(c) Guilty about causing a man to die.
(d) Isolated from the reality of the accident.

4. What does Ballard do for the week after being released from the hospital?
(a) Sits on the veranda.
(b) Watches television.
(c) Walks around the neighborhood.
(d) Sleeps on the couch.

5. Why does Ballard visit the Northolt police pound?
(a) To see Vaughan.
(b) To see his car.
(c) To pay a fine.
(d) To see the police.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the name of Ballard's wife?

2. The firemen who cut Ballard's door from its hinges looked like what according to Ballard?

3. Why would Vaughan arrange women in stylized positions in cars?

4. How many weeks does Ballard stay in the hospital after the crash in Chapter 2?

5. What is Vaughan's scientific subject?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Ballard and Catherine's marriage and explain its relevance to the novel.

2. What does Ballard believe Helen's motives are for making love with him at the site of the accident and what is their sex act a metaphor for?

3. Who is Karen and why is she significant?

4. What kind of pleasure did Vaughan derive from car crashes and how is it significant?

5. What kind of car does Ballard buy after his accident and what does it signify?

6. How does Ballard crash his car and why is it significant?

7. How does the wife of the man killed in the crash with Ballard react to the crash and why is it significant?

8. What dominates Ballard's thoughts as he recovers in the hospital and why is it significant?

9. How do Ballard, Helen, and Vaughan react to Seagrave's accident at the stock-car races and why is it significant?

10. Who is Elizabeth Taylor and what role does she play in the novel?

(see the answer keys)

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