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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. Who was in charge of renewing Zagreb?

2. During her speech in "A Letter from the United States...", Slavenka says communism failed due to a lack of what?

3. Why was Slavenka confused when certain people were glorified in the United States?

4. Who had military control during the split with Yugoslavia?

5. Slavenka noticed that people often did what, in preparation for a war?

Short Essay Questions

1. What struck Slavenka as unusual, regarding the election in Sagreb, Croatia?

2. Why was Slavenka surprised with herself when she tried to pick a good muffin off the ground in New York?

3. What was the reaction of the audience to Slavenka's speech on the state of women after the "velvet revolution"?

4. Why did Slavenka hold up sanitary napkins and tampons during a speech?

5. What items had Vesna's mother been known to collect?

6. According to Castro, why did he attempt to limit automobiles to less than one per person?

7. In "The Day They Say That War Will Begin", why were the shelves in many stores bare?

8. In "The Day They Say That War Will Begin", how did Slavenka come to terms with the idea of the impending war?

9. Why was Slavenka concerned at the rapid rate at which the European cities freed from Communism were remodeled?

10. In "Some Doubt about Fur Coats", why did Slavenka feel guilty about wearing a fur coat?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Although Slavenka was somewhat of an environmentalist, she balked at government control in this area. Write an essay examining her stance on the government's involvement in the environment. Analyze why she feels the way she does about the topic, citing examples from the text.

Essay Topic 2

Many of the products and services Slavenka was raised with were poor quality, as they were managed by the state. Write an essay examining the cause and effect of communism on one of the following state run organizations:

1) The post office.

2) The phone company.

3) The appliance industry.

Essay Topic 3

After Communism fell, basic items such as food became abundant in both variety and availability. In what interesting ways did this abundant lifestyle affect the people of Eastern Europe?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 651 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample