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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the sign that the speaker of "Bad Morning" is indeed having a bad morning?
(a) Too many bills on the kitchen table.
(b) Mismated shoes.
(c) A note from his lover saying she's leaving.
(d) A broken-down car.

2. In "As I Grew Older," what does the speaker say he had nearly forgotten?
(a) His wallet.
(b) His dream.
(c) His father.
(d) His mother.

3. How does the speaker describe the trumpet player's music in "Trumpet Player"?
(a) Like "a sick cat / Crying for the final dawn."
(b) Like "mother's voice / Through the darkest of nights."
(c) Like "honey / Mixed with liquid fire."
(d) Like "angel's voice / Filled with sorrow."

4. In "Sunday Morning Prophecy," where does the preacher encourage the congregants to give freely?
(a) In their own homes.
(b) In the collection basket.
(c) In their communities.
(d) From their kitchens.

5. Why is the speaker so concerned about her lover in "Lover's Return"?
(a) Because he has suddenly gone blind.
(b) Because he was in a car accident.
(c) Because he looks so sick.
(d) Because he lost his job.

6. How does the speaker describe the plants in "Garden"?
(a) As boring and ignorant.
(b) As angry and ugly.
(c) As strange and distorted.
(d) As beautiful and relaxing.

7. What are the waves kissing in "Moonlight Night: Carmel"?
(a) A mermaid's hair.
(b) A beautiful woman's feet.
(c) The moon.
(d) Seashells.

8. What did the speaker's lover do in "Late Last Night" that caused his/her heart to break?
(a) Look at him/her cross-eyed.
(b) Died.
(c) Had an affair.
(d) Lost all their money gambling.

9. When did Langston Hughes live?
(a) 1902 - 1964.
(b) 1960 - 2003.
(c) 1802 - 1864.
(d) 1935 - 1998.

10. What does the title "Litany" refer to?
(a) A city in the South.
(b) All of these answers are correct.
(c) A prayer.
(d) A city in Africa.

11. What does Big Boy want his woman to share with him in "50-50"?
(a) Her bed -- and her money.
(b) Her bed -- and her whole house.
(c) Her house -- and her new car.
(d) Her kitchen -- and her garden.

12. Where does Aunt Sue get her stories from in "Aunt Sue's Stories"?
(a) The radio.
(b) A book.
(c) Her own life.
(d) The TV.

13. What race was Langston Hughes?
(a) Asian.
(b) Latino.
(c) White.
(d) African American.

14. What kind of music are tambourines often used in?
(a) Traditional Chinese music.
(b) Irish music.
(c) Classical music.
(d) Gospel music.

15. What does the speaker encourage the reader to wonder about when down by the river?
(a) The preciousness of children.
(b) How beautiful nature is.
(c) What (you) got left.
(d) The power of love.

Short Answer Questions

1. What asked the speaker for a kiss in "Suicide's Note"?

2. What women are surrounding the speaker in "Sylvester's Dying Bed"?

3. What supernatural figure appears in the poem "Sunday Morning Prophecy"?

4. Where does the speaker find himself after dying in the poem "Judgment Day"?

5. What is one way Sylvester knows he is dying in "Sylvester's Dying Bed"?

(see the answer keys)

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