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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. What does the narrator say "usually promises to be interesting" (19)?
(a) A flood.
(b) A religious crisis.
(c) A death.
(d) A hurricane.

2. The man tells the woman that he has committed "blasphemy" (20). What has he done?
(a) Contemplated suicide.
(b) Cursed God's name.
(c) Told a harmful lie about someone.
(d) Shown disrespect to God.

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

4. Who is "thinking of writing a letter to the President" (20)?
(a) The woman at the church.
(b) The man who thinks he is dying.
(c) The main character.
(d) The landlady.

5. What does the woman think might be preventing her from committing to a center for her story?
(a) Laziness.
(b) Curiosity.
(c) Hope.
(d) Fear.

Short Answer Questions

1. What detail of the woman's train ride reinforces the motif of things that come close to happening but do not actually happen?

2. On her train ride, what does the woman realize she has not given much thought to?

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

4. What can be inferred about the woman from the description of the women who try to get her to sit down at their church?

5. In what religion are the High Holy Days a sacred time?

(see the answer key)

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