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

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

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

4. To what religious faith does Stephanides family belong?
(a) The Roman Catholic Church.
(b) The Presbyterian Church.
(c) The Church of Islam.
(d) Greek Orthodox Church.

5. Why did Sourmelina's parents send her to America?
(a) They could not afford to support an unmarried daughter.
(b) She was caught in a scandalous affair with a woman.
(c) They could not find a man to marry her in Bithynios.
(d) They wanted her to find fame and fortune in America.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is unique about Calliope's fifth chromosome?

2. What artistic medium does Julie Kikuchi work with?

3. What helps narrator feel more masculine?

4. Which of the following factors complicates Tessie's relationship with Father Mike?

5. What does Calliope do when she she is baptized?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do Tessie and Milton want a baby daughter so badly?

2. Describe Fard Muhammad's beliefs about the evolution of race.

3. Describe the village of Bithynios.

4. How does the narrator characterize Lefty's gradual demise?

5. What does Desdemona do when she hears that Milton's Navy unit will be going to war?

6. Why is Desdemona fearful about Tessie and Milton's burgeoning romantic relationship?

7. Why do Desdemona and Lefty pretend that they do not know each other while aboard the Giulia?

8. Why does Lefty not marry either of the village girls that Desdemona attempts to set him up with?

9. What is particular significance of Lefty and Desdemona (brother and sister) marrying for Cal/Calliope, the narrator?

10. Describe Desdemona's silkworm box and its contents.

(see the answer keys)

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