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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who makes an effort of reading Isaac Babel's short stories, though she does not understand them in Homage to Isaac Babel?
(a) Philip.
(b) The narrator.
(c) Jessica.
(d) Catherine.

2. How does the author say the night had fallen in The Falling Girl?
(a) Spookily.
(b) Eerily.
(c) Nervously.
(d) Craftily.

3. What is the setting of Blue?
(a) Amsterdam.
(b) Australia.
(c) Paris.
(d) New Mexico.

4. Who wrote Homage to Isaac Babel?
(a) Doris Lessing.
(b) Jorge Luis Borges.
(c) Slawomir Mrozek.
(d) Joyce Carol Oates.

5. What does the old woman feed the meat to in the end of Weather in San Francisco?
(a) Bees.
(b) Cats.
(c) Fish.
(d) Dogs.

Short Answer Questions

1. The story of Happy Endings is structured similarly to what?

2. Who wrote the story La Volpaia?

3. What is the name of the man the central female character falls in love with after the death of her husband in Happy Endings?

4. In what school grade is the narrator of An Insolvable Problem of Genetics?

5. What is the name of the central male character in Happy Endings?

Short Essay Questions

1. What takes place in the story Homage to Isaac Babel? Who are the main characters?

2. What happens to the narrator's friend in At the River? How does he discover this?

3. What is the setting of Blue? What is troubling the citizens in the narrative?

4. How does the gypsy try getting rid of the stolen item in On Hope? How is he thwarted in his attempts?

5. What happens once the inflatable elephant is built in The Elephant?

6. Who are the characters in At the River? What are they catching for food in the story?

7. Who is the central character in Don't You Blame Anyone and what is his central action in the narrative?

8. How is the narrative structured in the story Happy Endings? What are the first scenarios like?

9. Describe the themes and political motif in One of These Days. What other story in the collection shares similar themes?

10. Describe the time span and theme in The Blue Jar?

(see the answer keys)

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