View a FREE sample

This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

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

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

5. What is it logical to infer about the church women who are wearing red?
(a) They are collecting the offering.
(b) They are ushers.
(c) They are the choir.
(d) They are worship leaders.

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

7. Why was the woman reading the Bible during the period she writes about in her story?
(a) Because she wanted to know exactly what it said.
(b) Because she needed comfort during the hurricane.
(c) Because she wanted to use Biblical allusions in her writing.
(d) Because it was the High Holy Days.

8. What detail does the story give about the shape of the tape on the windows?
(a) It is shaped like asterisks.
(b) It is shaped like crosses.
(c) It is shaped like the letter "x."
(d) It is shaped like diamonds.

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

10. 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) Parallelism.
(b) Non sequitur.
(c) Analogy.
(d) Juxtaposition.

11. What detail of the woman's train ride reinforces the motif of things that come close to happening but do not actually happen?
(a) The direction she is traveling.
(b) Her distance from the city.
(c) The water level.
(d) Her thoughts about religion.

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

13. In the story's opening sentence, what is implied about the main character's writing?
(a) Her readers are gradually deserting her.
(b) She does not deserve the praise she has gotten.
(c) More than one of her stories is uninteresting.
(d) She is losing interest in her career.

14. Who is with the landlady when the landlady is talking about the mayor?
(a) The mail carrier.
(b) No one.
(c) The landlady's son.
(d) The main character.

15. What technique is used in the phrase "the stink of burning hair, fur, and horn" (19)?
(a) Synesthesia.
(b) Assonance.
(c) Onomatopoeia.
(d) Imagery.

Short Answer Questions

1. For the majority of the story, what tone does the narrator adopt?

2. What detail in the description of the man's bedroom indicates how close the hurricane is getting?

3. What does the sick man want when he calls the main character?

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

5. Where is the woman's landlady from?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 590 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample