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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How do Catherine and Hal feel at the top of the scene?
(a) Neither of them remember what happened last night.
(b) Very happy with each other and planning a wedding.
(c) Awkward toward each other.
(d) They absolutely despise each other.

2. According to the letter Catherine has memorized, is Gauss pleased to discover the letters he has received are from a woman?
(a) No, he thinks a woman's place is in the household.
(b) No, he thinks his ideas are the only valid ones.
(c) Yes, he hopes he can take her out on a date sometime.
(d) Yes, he regards her as courageous and genius.

3. Why does Claire want Catherine to come to New York?
(a) She is worried that Catherine is upset and exhausted, and living in Chicago is bad for her mental health.
(b) She wants to get a two bedroom apartment so they can live together again.
(c) She needs Catherine to help organize the upcoming wedding.
(d) She never wants to come back to Chicago to visit.

4. What is a graphomaniac?
(a) A person who makes lots and lots of graphs.
(b) A person who compulsively writes, though the writing may make no sense.
(c) A person who cannot abide the sight of paper.
(d) A person who hates writing and avoids it at all costs.

5. What is Hal's full name?
(a) Halfred Dobbs.
(b) Halfred Jones.
(c) Harold Dobbs.
(d) Harold Jones.

6. Why does Hal attempt to steal the notebook?
(a) He plans to sell the notebook and make a profit.
(b) He wants to publish the ideas in the notebook as his own.
(c) He wants to keep the notebook for sentimental reasons.
(d) He wants to wrap it, and give it to Catherine as a birthday present.

7. Where does Claire live?
(a) Boston.
(b) Chicago.
(c) New York.
(d) Los Angeles.

8. Who paid the mortgage on the house during Robert's illness?
(a) Claire.
(b) Hal.
(c) Catherine.
(d) Robert.

9. What instrument does Hal play?
(a) The bass.
(b) The guitar.
(c) The drums.
(d) The piano.

10. What does Hal discover in the notebook?
(a) A theory of physics.
(b) A proof.
(c) A short story.
(d) A painting.

11. When is Claire's wedding, and where?
(a) June, in Chicago.
(b) November, in Miami.
(c) August, in Boston.
(d) January, in New York City.

12. What did Catherine think of Hal the first time they met?
(a) She thought he talked too much.
(b) She thought he was terribly boring.
(c) She thought he was not boring.
(d) She thought she loved him.

13. What does Catherine give to Hal?
(a) A cup of coffee meant for Claire.
(b) A backpack filled with notebooks.
(c) A key to the bottom drawer of the desk in Robert's office.
(d) A ring that belonged to her mother.

14. What is Imaginary Number, or i?
(a) A song of Hal's band's that consists of three minutes of silence.
(b) A theory of Hal's on which he is writing a paper.
(c) A theory of Robert's before his death.
(d) Catherine's favorite cereal.

15. What does Claire think Hal is to Catherine?
(a) She thinks he is her professor.
(b) She thinks he is her boyfriend.
(c) She thinks he is her best friend.
(d) She thinks he is a police officer.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why is Claire selling the house?

2. How does Catherine know about Sophie Germain?

3. What is Hal carrying when he enters?

4. According to Hal, what happens when a mathematician turns fifty?

5. Where did Hal go to the mathematician conference?

(see the answer keys)

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