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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. Where is the woman's landlady from?
(a) Trinidad.
(b) Barbados.
(c) Jamaica.
(d) Cuba.

2. What does the landlady say the mayor gave her?
(a) A stove.
(b) Flowers.
(c) An award.
(d) Carpet.

3. For the majority of the story, what tone does the narrator adopt?
(a) Amused.
(b) Objective.
(c) Dismissive.
(d) Melancholic.

4. What technique is used in the sentence: "The story is flat and even, just as the earth seems flat and even when a hurricane is advancing over it" (19)?
(a) Simile.
(b) Allusion.
(c) Allegory.
(d) Personification.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What specific Biblical story does the writer focus on?

2. What technique is used in the sentence: "Outside her apartment, the weather was changing: the wind rose, the branches swayed on the young trees, and the leaves fluttered" (19)?

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

4. How does the woman realize her study of religion has made her feel?

5. What does the hurricane do to the city in the woman's story?

(see the answer key)

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