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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Where does Madam dream of playing the numbers in "Madam and the Number Writer"?
(a) In heaven.
(b) In a very classy gambling club in Vegas.
(c) Back in Atlanta with her family.
(d) Out in public like white people.

2. What is the one thing the fortune teller in "Ballad of the Fortune Teller" couldn't see?
(a) Where her lover went.
(b) That her business was going to go bankrupt.
(c) That she was going to be robbed.
(d) When she was going to die.

3. Where does the speaker say Harlem is in "Puzzled"?
(a) On the edge of hell.
(b) In the note of every Blues' song.
(c) In every man's heart.
(d) At the edge of America.

4. How much does the character's buddy earn a week in "Buddy"?
(a) Ten a week.
(b) Twenty a week.
(c) Twelve a week.
(d) Fifteen a week.

5. Why does the speaker prefer older women in "Preference"?
(a) Because they take care of him better.
(b) Because they have more money since they're older.
(c) Because they don't get mad if he cheats.
(d) Because they don't get mad so easily.

6. What does the speaker in "Cross" take back in regard to his father?
(a) A car.
(b) His books.
(c) Money.
(d) Curses.

7. According to the speaker in "To Be Somebody," where is there always room?
(a) In one's own mind.
(b) In another's heart.
(c) In dreams.
(d) At the top.

8. What does the speaker in "Little Old Letter" claim pen and paper have the power to do?
(a) Guarantee your rights.
(b) Burn up and turn meaningless.
(c) Seal a deal.
(d) Take a person's life.

9. How does the character in "Migrant" sign his paycheck?
(a) In "uphill letters."
(b) With his family's famous pen.
(c) With "a crayon, just like a child."
(d) With his own blood.

10. How much older does the speaker like women in "Preference"?
(a) Ten.
(b) Eight.
(c) Six.
(d) All of these answers are correct.

11. What sound does the speaker claim a dream deferred makes in "Dream Boogie"?
(a) A soft whisper in the night.
(b) A boogie-woogie rumble.
(c) A quiet whimper in the dark.
(d) A howling at the moon inside one's soul.

12. What is the name of the man in "Ballad of the Fortune Teller"?
(a) James.
(b) Samuel.
(c) John.
(d) Dave.

13. What does Madam say she'd do before she pays the rent to her landlord in "Madam and the Rent Man"?
(a) Go to Hades.
(b) Cook a nice dinner.
(c) Scrub all the floors in the house.
(d) Go to the bank.

14. What is the name of the character in "Graduation"?
(a) Jackson Barton.
(b) Jackson Bartlet.
(c) Mary Lulu Jackson.
(d) Mary Beth Wilson.

15. What does the speaker hope for her child in the poem "Lament over Love"?
(a) The he or she will never love a man.
(b) That he or she will not grow up to be poor.
(c) That he or she will go to college.
(d) That he or she will stop being so bratty all the time.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the speaker in "Mother to Son" claim her life has NOT been?

2. What is the little girl dreaming of in "To Be Somebody"?

3. How large is the house that Madam has to clean in "Madam and Her Madam"?

4. What in particular does the speaker need a dime for in "Down and Out"?

5. What question does the number runner ask Madam in "Madam and the Number Writer"?

(see the answer keys)

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