View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why does Milton decide to take the Annapolis entrance exam?
(a) Because he wants to be relocated closer to Tessie.
(b) Because he has dreamed of becoming a Navy officer.
(c) Because he believes that being accepted into Annapolis will make Tessie proud of him.
(d) Because he will be exempt from drills while taking the test.

2. What happens to the Zebra Room's earnings?
(a) Lefty loses them by gambling instead of depositing them into the bank.
(b) Milton uses the money to expand the operation by opening a series of hot dog stands.
(c) They are stolen when the Zebra Room is burglarized.
(d) The Zebra Room earns little money because it is located in a poor neighborhood.

3. How does Lefty manage to keep the men in the gaming room from stealing his winnings?
(a) He hides them in his sock.
(b) He fights the men and wins.
(c) He flees from the gaming room and hides.
(d) He loses them all in subsequent games.

4. What does Desdemona keep in the silkworm box to predict the sex of a baby?
(a) A silver spoon.
(b) A silkworm cocoon.
(c) Her hair braids.
(d) The rope wedding crowns.

5. What does Desdemona do to help make the village girls more attractive to Lefty?
(a) She teaches them how to talk to a man in a seductive way.
(b) She gives them sex lessons.
(c) She encourages them to practice personal hygiene.
(d) She teaches them to look like the girls in a lingerie catalog hidden in her father's dresser.

6. Who does Desdemona over hear through the heating vents in the Silk Room of the Temple No. 1?
(a) Sister Wanda.
(b) Betty Smith.
(c) W.D. Fard.
(d) The Prophet Muhammed.

7. What does Desdemona fear will happen to Lefty?
(a) He will never marry and will die alone.
(b) He will become a smoker and alcoholic.
(c) He will marry an unattractive Turkish woman.
(d) He will marry a village girl and will leave Desdemona alone to care for the cocoonery.

8. What is the first luxury Milton purchases with the insurance money?
(a) The first Hercules Hot Dog stand.
(b) Plane tickets to Turkey.
(c) A Cadillac.
(d) A new home in Grosse Pointe.

9. What causes conflict between Jimmy and Lefty?
(a) Jimmy drives the Packard too quickly over the lake and frightens Lefty.
(b) Jimmy believes that Lefty has stolen money from him.
(c) Jimmy suspects that Lefty is actually the father of Sourmelina's baby.
(d) Lefty suspects Jimmy of cheating on Sourmelina.

10. Why does Desdemona visit Dr. Philobosian in this chapter?
(a) To determine whether or not she is pregnant
(b) To have a physical examination
(c) To ask him to sterilize her so she will not be able to have more children.
(d) Because she has contracted an illness from the silk workers

11. What is the only article of modern technology does the superstitious and traditional Desdemona embraces?
(a) The record player (hi-fi).
(b) The vacuum cleaner.
(c) The automobile.
(d) The television.

12. What does Lefty decide to do to earn money to support his family after Jimmy Zismo's death?
(a) Open a bar, the Zebra Room, in his basement.
(b) Work at the Ford factory.
(c) Take over Jimmy's bootlegging business.
(d) Sell Jimmy's zebra skin rug.

13. What does Desdemona attempt to smuggle into the U.S. in her silkworm box?
(a) Silkworms.
(b) Silkworm cocoons.
(c) Silkworm eggs.
(d) A silver spoon.

14. What commentary on beauty does Julie Kikuchi make in this chapter?
(a) Beauty is always freakish.
(b) Gender has no bearing on beauty.
(c) Beauty is only skin deep.
(d) True beauty comes from inside a person.

15. In "Opa!", why is Milton suddenly around the house more than at the diner?
(a) Milton wants to help care for his father, Lefty, after his stroke.
(b) Milton has sold the Zebra Room to a new owner.
(c) Business is bad so Milton closes the restaurant several days a week.
(d) The bank has foreclosed on the diner.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the narrator say his purpose for telling this story?

2. What is unusual about Lefty and Desdemona's relationship?

3. How does Milton seduce Tessie?

4. What drives Desdemona and Lefty from Bithynios?

5. Which of the following statements best describes Uncle Pete?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 811 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample