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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the stage direction for Catherine reading the proof?
(a) Quietly, in disbelief.
(b) Quickly and angrily.
(c) Slowly, without inflection.
(d) Vivaciously, with excitement.

2. Why is Catherine adamant that Robert could not have written the proof?
(a) Because the proof is incorrect and full of errors, and Robert never made errors.
(b) Because she knows that Claire wrote the proof and is keeping it a secret.
(c) Because, though he asked her to keep his secret, she knows that Hal wrote the proof.
(d) Because, even during the good year when he was lucid, he was not able to do mathematics.

3. What is she paying for tuition?
(a) She is paying three-quarters, and the rest is a combination of scholarships and loans.
(b) Nothing; she is getting a free ride.
(c) She is paying full tuition, and has worked out a payment plan.
(d) She is paying half, and the other half is paid by scholarships.

4. Who does Hal think has written the proof?
(a) Catherine.
(b) Claire.
(c) Robert.
(d) Himself.

5. What does Robert begin to write at the end of Act 2, Scene 1?
(a) He begins to write his last will and testament.
(b) He begins to write the proof that Hal discovers.
(c) He begins to write the journal entry that Hal tries to give to Catherine.
(d) He begins to write his edits for Hal's thesis.

6. Why doesn't Claire believe Catherine about the proof?
(a) She knows that Catherine is terrible at mathematics.
(b) She thinks Catherine is emotionally unstable.
(c) She knows that Robert wrote the proof--he told her before his death.
(d) She wrote the proof herself.

7. Why does Catherine claim she wrote the proof in one of Robert's notebook?
(a) She bought the notebooks for him in bulk, and there were extras.
(b) She wanted to confuse Hal, with whom she is angry.
(c) She only writes in certain types of notebooks, which Robert happened to have.
(d) She thought she would publish the proof under his name.

8. Why was Catherine's drawer locked?
(a) The key to the drawer has long been lost.
(b) The drawer is a place where she keeps private things.
(c) The drawer contains Robert's greatest works.
(d) The drawer is full of important legal documents.

9. What does Robert compare his creativity to?
(a) Jumping onto a train.
(b) Walking down the street.
(c) Sitting on a geyser.
(d) Falling asleep in bed.

10. What does Robert say is finally working again?
(a) His eyes, which have been bothering him.
(b) His television.
(c) The machinery, or, his mathematical genius.
(d) The radiators.

11. Why does Claire resent mathematicians?
(a) She is a physicist, and the resent between the two professions runs deep.
(b) She is jealous of mathematicians' talent, and wishes she could be a mathematician herself.
(c) She is a writer, and believes the arts are more important than sciences.
(d) She feels that mathematicians do not think their actions through.

12. Why has Catherine waited so long to inform Robert of her plans?
(a) Until recently, she was not sure if he was truly better, and worried she may need to stay with him.
(b) Until recently, she had no desire to return to school, thinking it dull and predictable.
(c) She knew he would be incredibly angry, and wanted to give him as little choice as possible in the matter.
(d) She was on the waiting list at the school, and was not certain she would be accepted.

13. When does Act 2, Scene 3 take place?
(a) The day of Act 1, Scene 1.
(b) The day after Act 2, Scene 2.
(c) The day of Act 2, Scene 2.
(d) The day before Act 2, Scene 2.

14. What else did Hal find in the drawer?
(a) Nothing, just the notebook.
(b) Important legal documents.
(c) Ten more notebooks full of ideas.
(d) Catherine's diary.

15. Where will Catherine live while she is in school?
(a) Chicago.
(b) New York.
(c) Evanston.
(d) At home.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who or what interrupts Catherine and Robert's argument?

2. What does Claire do for a living?

3. What does Catherine try to destroy at the end of Act 2, Scene 2?

4. When does Act 2, Scene 4 take place?

5. What time of year is it in Act 2, Scene 4?

(see the answer keys)

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