View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In whose notebook is the proof written?
(a) In Catherine's notebook.
(b) In Hal's notebook.
(c) In Robert's notebook.
(d) In Claire's notebook.

2. When does the first scene on Act 2 take place?
(a) It takes place at the same time as Act 1
(b) It takes place five years before Act 1
(c) It takes place five years after Act 1
(d) It takes place an instant after the end of Act 1

3. What has Catherine missed to come back to the house?
(a) She has missed a date.
(b) She has missed a shift at work.
(c) She has missed a class.
(d) She has missed her favorite television program.

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

5. What does Catherine ask Robert to do, after he shows her his latest ideas in the notebook?
(a) She asks him to get the work published right away.
(b) She asks him to burn the notebook.
(c) She asks him to go back inside the house.
(d) She asks him leave and never come back.

6. What does Claire ask Hal to do before he leaves?
(a) She asks him never to come back.
(b) She asks him to explain the proof to her.
(c) She asks him to come visit in Chicago.
(d) She asks him to come visit in New York.

7. What does Claire think about Hal's suggestion to check the proof?
(a) Claire thinks his suggestions is terrible--how could Catherine possibly recite the proof from memory?
(b) Claire thinks his suggestion is terrible--she does not have time to go to trial.
(c) Claire thinks his suggestion is excellent--who better to check the proof than mathematicians who knew Robert?
(d) Claire thinks his suggestion is excellent--no one will be able to validate the authoship better than Robert.

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

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

10. 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.

11. What does Catherine say to Hal that causes him to leave abruptly, and without the notebook?
(a) She says that she loves him and always has, and wants to marry him as soon as possible.
(b) She says that she does not approve of his relationship with Claire.
(c) She says that he barely finished his Ph.D., does research that does not matter, and played in an awful band.
(d) She says that he killed Robert and she can prove it.

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

13. What is Catherine's explanation as to why she wrote the proof?
(a) She was so excited about math and life that the ideas could not be stopped.
(b) She was depressed because she had to quit school and move home, and decided she could learn the math herself.
(c) She does not claim to have written the proof.
(d) She was jealous of Robert and vowed that she could come up with something better.

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Whose handwriting does Claire think the proof is written in?

2. How much of Robert's ability does Claire think she has inherited?

3. Who will help her pay for living expenses--books, food, gas, etc?

4. Why doesn't Claire believe Catherine about the proof?

5. Why has Catherine waited so long to inform Robert of her plans?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 835 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample