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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. Who are the Purifiers?
(a) Guardians of the Crimson Hexagon.
(b) A group that destroys inappropriate books.
(c) A group of authors.
(d) No one knows.

2. What is April March?
(a) A magazine article.
(b) A short story.
(c) A satirical play.
(d) A novel.

3. Why do some lottery players protest the rules of the lottery?
(a) They do not want to wait long for the next drawing.
(b) They feel the lottery is taking over their city.
(c) They need food to live.
(d) They feel only the rich can win.

4. Why is it impossible to destroy all the books in the library?
(a) The books will not burn.
(b) They are redundant and infinite.
(c) The librarians are vigilant.
(d) They are constantly being rewritten by the Purifiers.

5. Who is the narrator in "An Examination of the Work of Herbert Quain"?
(a) Borges.
(b) Al-Mu'tasim.
(c) Menard.
(d) Quain.

Short Answer Questions

1. What are the Vindications?

2. What does the protagonist of "The Circular Ruins" learn about himself?

3. In "The Circular Ruins," what happens to the body organ in the protagonist's dream?

4. Why are some lottery players imprisoned?

5. In "The Approach to Al-Mu'tasim," why does the student decide to travel the country?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the satire present in "An Examination of the Work of Herbert Quain."

2. What opinion does Pierre Menard have of Cervantes' "Don Quixote"?

3. Describe Al-Mu'tasim.

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

5. Describe the first dream from "The Circular Ruins."

6. How does the Babylon lottery cause an uprising?

7. Describe the second dream from "The Circular Ruins."

8. In "The Circular Ruins," what fear does the protagonist have for his son?

9. What is the irony prevalent in "Pierre Menard, Author of Don Quixote"?

10. Who are the Purifiers?

(see the answer keys)

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