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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What physical feature does Darius report sharing with Stephen Kellner?

2. For what company does Stephen work?

3. Why, in “Truck Nuts,” is Stephen obliged to brake while driving?

4. Which of the following is among the sites recommended by the second Iranian customs officer Darius encounters?

5. Where does Darius report wanting to work?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Surrender Cobra?

2. What is Ardeshir doing when Darius first sees him in Iran?

3. Near the end of “Bette Davis Eyes,” what does Darius report wanting and failing to tell Ardeshir?

4. What reasons does Darius posit for Ardeshir’s dislike of Stephen?

5. What reasons does Darius give for avoiding detailed discussion of his school as he rides from Tehran to Yazd with Fairba?

6. What reasons does Darius give for disliking pu-erh tea?

7. What does Darius notice when first reaching Ashkan’s store?

8. Why, per Darius, does he not shower after gym class at his school?

9. What reasons does Darius give for Stephen laughing after his backpack is broken?

10. What was the game of Turbolift Door Darius used to play, and why did he stop playing it?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the novel, Darius notes some embarrassment whenever he is asked whether he has a girlfriend. Why might he be thusly embarrassed? What in the novel supports that answer? How does it support the answer?

Essay Topic 2

As Darius prepares to leave Iran, he notes that he intends to call Fariba weekly but knows he will fail, noting that “Because each time I talked to her, I’d have to say good-bye.

“Now that we were part of each other’s lives—our real lives, not our photonic ones—I didn’t know if I could survive that” (299).

Given that, is Darius better off for having had the experience of meeting his Persian family? How does the novel support or deny the idea?

Essay Topic 3

Consider the following:

“Stephen Kellner always gave everyone the benefit of the doubt.

“Everyone except me” (184).

Does the novel as a whole support or reject the assertion? What in the novel sustains that support or rejection? How does it do so?

(see the answer keys)

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