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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Section 1: The Center of the Story.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who is the author of "The Center of the Story"?
(a) Maile Chapman.
(b) Judith Frank.
(c) Doris Betts.
(d) Lydia Davis.

2. What can be inferred about the woman from the description of the women who try to get her to sit down at their church?
(a) She is Jewish.
(b) She is not a Christian.
(c) She is not Black.
(d) She is White.

3. What detail in the description of the man indicates how ill he feels?
(a) The color of his face.
(b) The way his ribs protrude.
(c) The sounds he is making.
(d) The smell coming from his skin.

4. Besides reading the Bible, what else does the woman spend her time doing in the period of time her story is about?
(a) She calls each of her family members and friends.
(b) She looks out the window and watches the news.
(c) She shops for emergency supplies and fills her tub with water.
(d) She reads the Koran and the Talmud.

5. What does the sick man want when he calls the main character?
(a) He wants to apologize for the argument they recently had.
(b) He wants to talk about death and the afterlife.
(c) He wants her advice about whether to go to the hospital.
(d) He wants her to come over and help him.

Short Answer Questions

1. What denomination is the last church that the woman visits?

2. What does the narrator say "usually promises to be interesting" (19)?

3. What color is the light in the man's bedroom?

4. Why are rams' horns being blown all around the city?

5. After completing her first draft of the story, what does the woman realize about it?

(see the answer key)

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