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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. In what religion are the High Holy Days a sacred time?
(a) Judaism.
(b) Christianity.
(c) Hinduism.
(d) Islam.

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

3. What specific Biblical story does the writer focus on?
(a) The Trials of Job.
(b) The Garden of Eden.
(c) Noah's Ark.
(d) Jonah and the Great Fish.

4. 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)?
(a) Analogy.
(b) Non sequitur.
(c) Juxtaposition.
(d) Parallelism.

5. After completing her first draft of the story, what does the woman realize about it?
(a) She understands more about herself and her life now that she has written it.
(b) She is losing touch with her passion as a writer.
(c) She cannot remember why she wanted to write it in the first place.
(d) She is afraid that the content of the story will upset her friend.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the woman suspect that the man believes about his blasphemy?

2. What detail in the description of the man indicates how ill he feels?

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

4. Why was the woman reading the Bible during the period she writes about in her story?

5. The man tells the woman that he has committed "blasphemy" (20). What has he done?

(see the answer key)

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