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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. Smith says that if you were to ask Barbara what she might be doing on a particular holiday, what is one possible answer she might give?
(a) Ordering take-out.
(b) Binging on Netflix.
(c) Sleeping late.
(d) Going to the Catskills.

2. What is the name of Smith’s masseur in “A Man with Strong Hands”?
(a) Brendan.
(b) Jill.
(c) Sarah.
(d) Ben.

3. Though Barbara is older, Smith says she is like many women in the city who do not get old in what “traditional” (48) way?
(a) Scientific.
(b) Boring.
(c) Feminine.
(d) Elderly.

4. Who taught Smith “the importance of finding your own language” (90)?
(a) Mr. Rainbow.
(b) Carol.
(c) Zora Neal Hurston.
(d) Zulfi.

5. What is the title of the third short essay in “Screengrabs”?
(a) Barbara and Beck.
(b) A Man with Strong Hands.
(c) A Woman with a Little Dog.
(d) My Favorite Neighbor.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Smith call the particular form of contempt she sees from Dominic?

2. In “A Man With Strong Hands,” Smith’s masseur tells her that she never does what while getting a massage?

3. What are the two subjects Smith says she and her masseur talk about while she gets a massage?

4. What does Smith’s Masseur call her in “A Man With Strong Hands”?

5. From whom does Smith say she learned the art of mothering?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Smith say her feelings have always been about her ability to survive an apocalypse?

2. What does Smith thank Carol for in “Intimations: Debts and Lessons”?

3. Why is Smith going to the ATM in “A Character in a Wheelchair in the Vestibule”?

4. What does Smith say she learned from or appreciates about her parents and brother in “Intimations”?

5. What does the man with the sign say in his email to the entire university community?

6. Which famous New Yorker did Smith read about at the start of the pandemic and reference in “A Character in a Wheelchair in the Vestibule”?

7. Why does Smith rarely get manicures and never get pedicures?

8. What does Myron think of all the people leaving NYC based on the phone call Smith overhears in the ATM?

9. How does Smith show that others in her building are leaving the city as well?

10. How does Smith show that when she went to the ATM in the first story in “Screengrabs” it was early on in the pandemic?

(see the answer keys)

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