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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What are the Vindications?
(a) Books of apology and prophecy.
(b) Books that cause destruction.
(c) Songs of the future.
(d) The laws of the Library of Babel.

2. From what point of view is "The Approach of Al-Mu'tasim" written?
(a) Third person.
(b) Second person.
(c) Second person omniscient.
(d) First person.

3. What happens when the protagonist of "The Circular Ruins" steps into the burning ruins?
(a) He does not burn.
(b) He body burns, leaving his heart.
(c) He dies.
(d) He disappears.

4. What war is being fought in "The Garden of Forking Paths"?
(a) Vietnam.
(b) Korea.
(c) World War II.
(d) World War I.

5. What does Ts'ui Pen wish to create before his death?
(a) An epic poem.
(b) A great labyrinth.
(c) A legacy.
(d) A great sculpture.

6. To whom does the protagonist in "The Circular Ruins" pray?
(a) The moon and stars.
(b) The sun.
(c) The planetary gods.
(d) No one.

7. Who is the student searching for in "The Approach to Al-Mu'tasim"?
(a) The Hindu family.
(b) A saint who walks the Earth.
(c) The blind astrologer.
(d) The Moslem family.

8. Where does the narrator discover "The First Encyclopedia of Tlon"?
(a) In the library.
(b) Among Herbert Ashe's possessions.
(c) On the island of Tertius.
(d) Inside a mirror.

9. In "Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius", what topic is the narrator discussing when the subject of the encyclopedia is brought up?
(a) Books.
(b) Time.
(c) Mirrors.
(d) Rivers.

10. In "The Approach to Al-Mu'tasim," why does the student run to the top of a tower?
(a) He is angry.
(b) He longs to end his suffering.
(c) He is tired of all the fighting.
(d) He believes he has killed someone.

11. What does the protagonist of "The Circular Ruins" dream of doing?
(a) Teaching.
(b) Singing.
(c) Sewing.
(d) Building.

12. What does Dr. Yu Tsun discuss with Dr. Stephen Albert?
(a) Ts'ui Pen's sculpture.
(b) Ts'ui Pen's poetry.
(c) Ts'ui Pen's labyrinth.
(d) The war.

13. From what point of view is "The Garden of Forking Paths" written?
(a) Second person omniscient.
(b) Second person.
(c) Third person.
(d) First person.

14. What do the people of Tlon consider to be the most powerful tool mankind can possess?
(a) Time.
(b) The mind.
(c) Water.
(d) Reflection.

15. What opinion does the narrator have of Herbert Quain's work?
(a) It is genius.
(b) It is trite and meaningless.
(c) He could do better.
(d) It is the work of an amateur.

Short Answer Questions

1. What happens to the blind astrologer in "The Approach of Al-Mu'tasim"?

2. How is the universe described in "The Library of Babel"?

3. Who examines Pierre Menard's manuscripts?

4. Who are the Purifiers?

5. Who does Dr. Yu Tsun shoot?

(see the answer keys)

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