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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Deven's bus seat-mate say is the only thing that exists between life and death?
(a) Beauty.
(b) Suffering.
(c) Fun.
(d) Boredom.

2. Why has Sarla become bitter in their marriage?
(a) She wanted the type of marriage she saw in magazines.
(b) Deven never wants to spend time with her.
(c) She has had to work to support the family.
(d) Deven constantly cheats on her.

3. What does the old woman who enters Nur's room while he and Imtiaz are fighting say to Imtiaz?
(a) She tells her she is right and suggests Nur leave.
(b) She tells her to leave and calls her a "bitch."
(c) She tells her she should be thankful to have a place to live.
(d) She tells her to treat their husband with respect and honor.

4. Why is Deven doubtful they have arrived in Nur's home city at the start of Chapter 3?
(a) It is so close to where he lives.
(b) It is too nice.
(c) It is too remote.
(d) The place seems too busy.

5. What does Nur tell Deven about Imtiaz in Chapter 5?
(a) She first came to him as a student, but soon wanted his house, audience, and friends.
(b) She is the greatest thing that has happened to him.
(c) She is the true poet and he is her apprentice.
(d) She has been his muse for years.

6. What excuse does Nur give his wife for not feeling well the first night Deven meets him?
(a) He says he has not eaten much.
(b) He says he is too drunk.
(c) He says it is his medication.
(d) He says he has ulcers.

7. Why is Deven surprised at the company Nur keeps the first time he meets him?
(a) He imagined Nur would be a solitary man.
(b) He has very few visitors.
(c) They are old old intellectuals.
(d) The people are stiff and boring.

8. Who is Nur?
(a) The college principal.
(b) An Urdu poet.
(c) Deven's father-in-law.
(d) Murad's father.

9. What atypical thing does Sarla do when passing Deven to go inside the house the morning after he spent the night at Nur's?
(a) She pulls her sari over her head.
(b) She gives him a dirty look.
(c) She curses at him.
(d) She shoves him.

10. Where does Murad want Deven to take him at the start of Chapter 1?
(a) The best restaurant in town.
(b) His house for dinner.
(c) The dingiest bar in town.
(d) The hospital.

11. How does Nur's wife describe the people who visit him nightly?
(a) Lifelong friends.
(b) Inspirations.
(c) Leaches.
(d) Worshippers.

12. What color is the shirt Deven wears on the bus ride from Mirpore to Delhi to meet Nur?
(a) Green.
(b) Black.
(c) White.
(d) Yellow.

13. How does Nur react when Deven tells him he teaches in the Hindi department?
(a) He does not believe Deven.
(b) He laughs.
(c) He bows to Deven.
(d) He becomes angry.

14. In what ways were Murad and Deven different when they were young?
(a) Murad was tall, and Deven was short.
(b) Murad's family was wealthy and Deven's was poor.
(c) Murad was intelligent while Deven was not.
(d) Murad was obese, and Deven was thin.

15. What does Deven find in the bottom of his tea cup when he stops for tea after arriving in Delhi in Chapter 2?
(a) A rupee.
(b) A bit of food.
(c) A dead fly.
(d) A piece of glass.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Murad suggest Deven tell Nur regarding Nur's request that Deven work as his secretary?

2. What does Nur's wife suggest Deven do if he wants to help Nur in Chapter 3?

3. What subject does Deven teach at the university?

4. What does Deven do when Imtiaz and the old woman began to fight with Nur between them?

5. What does Deven feel about Imtiaz's poetry in Chapter 5?

(see the answer keys)

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