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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. Where is the film studio Ballard works for located?
(a) Somerset.
(b) Shepperton.
(c) Swindon.
(d) Salisbury.

2. How many weeks does Ballard stay in the hospital after the crash in Chapter 2?
(a) Three.
(b) One.
(c) Six.
(d) Four.

3. What word does Ballard repeat several times in his description of the car crash at the beginning of the book?
(a) Static.
(b) Stylized.
(c) Strange.
(d) Stoic.

4. Who tells Ballard that there is "a certain moral virtue in being materialistic"?
(a) Vera Seagrave.
(b) Catherine Ballard.
(c) Robert Vaughan.
(d) Helen Remington.

5. What does Ballard note about the Lincoln Continental Vaughan drives?
(a) It is the same make as Ballard's car.
(b) It is the same make of the one in which President Kennedy died.
(c) It is the same make as the one Elizabeth Taylor drives.
(d) It is the same make as Catherine's car.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to Ballard, as he recuperates in the hospital, what does he state as the "only real experience" he had been through in years?

2. When Ballard is lifted onto the stretcher after the crash, how does he feel?

3. What is Ballard's "ironic gesture" to provoke Catherine and Renate, who don't want him to drive?

4. Out of three "airport whores" Ballard comes across at a traffic island, which one does he pick up?

5. Why did Ballard have his safety belt on when leaving his secretary, Renata, before the crash?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. Who is with Dr. Helen Remington in the hospital and why is it significant?

4. Why is Dr. Robert Vaughan wanted by the police and how is it significant?

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

6. In the hospital, what does Ballard begin to do once he's mobile and how is it significant?

7. Why does Ballard begin renting cars and what do they signify?

8. What is the chronology of the novel and why is it significant?

9. What is Helen Remington doing at the impound yard when Ballard returns to survey the damage to his car and what does it show about her character?

10. Where does Ballard take Renata after his release from the hospital and why?

(see the answer keys)

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