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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What "sentence from a previous existence" (2) does the Minister say aloud while alone in his room at the start of the story?
(a) God bless us all.
(b) So it goes.
(c) Peace be with you.
(d) Adios, amigo.

2. What does the crowd do when the Minister begins to remove the crates of water from his trunk?
(a) They knock him down and grab the crates.
(b) They organize the crowd so women and children are served first.
(c) They tell the Minister that is not enough and to bring more.
(d) They stand in single file waiting their turn.

3. What does the Minister see "under the wall that had once circled the parade ground" (3) as he and Ari drive past the devastation?
(a) Hands with fingers cut off.
(b) Decapitated heads.
(c) Barely alive people begging for help.
(d) Pairs of bloated, purple feet.

4. What does Ari do when the man who is grabbing the Minister tells him to back the car up?
(a) He drives away.
(b) He backs the car up.
(c) He drives over the man's foot.
(d) He rolls down the window and asks the man for identification.

5. What does the Minister realize has happened to him when the man lifts him up amidst the crowd outside the church?
(a) He urinated himself.
(b) He has broken his elbow.
(c) He has gone blind.
(d) Ari left him.

6. Who is the author of "Moonlit Landscape with Bridge"?
(a) Zelda Sears.
(b) Zadie Smith.
(c) Sadie Jones.
(d) Stella Zaentz.

7. The Minister thinks Elena's "pious sincerity" is "as much a memento of his village" (2) as what?
(a) Clay pots and braided rugs.
(b) Morning prayer and porridge.
(c) Woven reed baskets and colored shawls.
(d) Fresh fruit and bare feet.

8. Where does the man who helps the Minister to his feet say he is from as he tries to help him through the crowd?
(a) The Peace Corps.
(b) Office of the Prime Minister.
(c) The U.S. Army.
(d) Red Cross.

9. What do readers learn of the Minister and Elena's past as he holds the crying woman?
(a) They had had an affair.
(b) They had once been married.
(c) They used to despise on another.
(d) They had been schoolmates.

10. How old is the Minister's youngest daughter?
(a) 3.
(b) 12.
(c) 17.
(d) 25.

11. What is the Minister of Interior's driver's name?
(a) Elvis.
(b) Elena.
(c) Ari.
(d) Al.

12. What word does the Minister use when describing "these weather events" (2) to Elena?
(a) Disastrous.
(b) Demonic.
(c) Dazzling.
(d) Democratic.

13. What does Elena twist in her hands as she talks to the Minister?
(a) Her apron.
(b) A dirty rag.
(c) A stuffed bear.
(d) Rosary beads.

14. Where will the Minister of Interior's driver take him?
(a) The bus station.
(b) The airport.
(c) His office.
(d) Church.

15. Where do Elena's children live?
(a) With Elena and the Minister.
(b) In the country.
(c) By the sea.
(d) In the city.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the Minister tell Elena was "a wicked lie in the foreign press" (2)?

2. Who could Elena be "easily mistaken" (3) for as the Minister holds her while his driver waits for him?

3. Where does the Minister tell Ari to stop the second time while they are heading to the airport?

4. What does the Minister do "out of habit" (2) when he sees how Elena is suffering?

5. In addition to the crowd, what other people are at the church where the Minister stops to urinate?

(see the answer keys)

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