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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Book 1, The Silk Road.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Desdemona vow to never do again after Calliope's birth?
(a) Predict a child's sex.
(b) Leave her ill husband alone.
(c) Attend church.
(d) Speak to Tessie.

2. Who marries Lefty and Desdemona on the boat?
(a) A priest traveling on the Giulia.
(b) Captain Kontoulis.
(c) Dr. Philobosian.
(d) No one, they are not married until they reach America.

3. What does the narrator say makes him/her "the most famous hermaphrodite in history"?
(a) S/he went to the doctor to have a sex change operation.
(b) S/he has the brain of a boy, but was raised as a girl.
(c) S/he was studied by Dr. Luce.
(d) S/he lived as a girl but had the body of a boy.

4. What does Lefty teach Desdemona to help her pass the English literacy test required for entry into America?
(a) Passages from the Greek Bible.
(b) English phrases.
(c) A Bible passage forbidding incest.
(d) A Bible passage about eunuchs.

5. What helps narrator feel more masculine?
(a) Using urinals in the men's bathroom.
(b) His full head of hair.
(c) A checked shirt.
(d) Cigars.

Short Answer Questions

1. How is Lefty able to get he and Desdemona out of the burning city of Smyrna?

2. What is Lefty's actual motivation for going into town?

3. What does Desdemona attempt to smuggle into the U.S. in her silkworm box?

4. What does Desdemona do to help make the village girls more attractive to Lefty?

5. Why does the silk Lefty sells in the market not earn much money?

(see the answer key)

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