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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 kind of ruler buys Ruysch's collection of biological specimens?
(a) The shah.
(b) The tsar.
(c) The sultan.
(d) The king.

2. The narrator discusses a statue of what entity that appeared to have arrived in the world fully-formed?
(a) Jesus.
(b) The Virgin Mary.
(c) Gonesh.
(d) Buddha.

3. The narrator says that the airport in which city is shaped like a spine?
(a) Los Angeles.
(b) Tokyo.
(c) Frankfurt.
(d) San Francisco.

4. Annushka begins taking what form of transport ceaselessly throughout each day?
(a) A bus.
(b) A boat.
(c) A train.
(d) A bicycle.

5. What city is referred to as the Eternal City?
(a) Rome.
(b) Paris.
(c) Vatican City.
(d) Turin.

Short Answer Questions

1. The vignette entitled "The Achilles Tendon" opens in what year?

2. The narrator declares that reception areas are better than cafes for what reason?

3. The narrator describes the nocturnal brain using an allusion to which mythological figure?

4. The narrator sees a postcard meant to evoke Rome with an image of whose hand?

5. At what time does the flight from Irkutsk arrive in Moscow?

Short Essay Questions

1. What two points of view does the narrator claim exist in the world and why?

2. How is the loss of purity theme depicted within the narrator's conversation about giving blood?

3. What object does Tokarczuk use in a metaphor characterizing the nocturnal brain and why?

4. In what way does the theme of compassion arise within Annushka's story?

5. What does the smoke created by the Maori symbolize?

6. How do Existentialist ideals creep into Verheyen's later writings?

7. In what way does the theme of regret appear within the story of Van Horssen and his mentor Verheyen?

8. Discuss the unnamed narrator's feelings about languages and secrecy.

9. In what way does Tokarczuk use dialogue in order to highlight a lack of sensitivity in tourists?

10. When the words of Annushka's supposed tormentor are revealed, what had the old woman been saying?

(see the answer keys)

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