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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. On her train ride, what does the woman realize she has not given much thought to?
(a) The devil.
(b) Her friend's illness.
(c) The newscasters.
(d) Her next story.

2. 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 her to come over and help him.
(c) He wants her advice about whether to go to the hospital.
(d) He wants to talk about death and the afterlife.

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

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

5. What does the woman suspect that the man believes about his blasphemy?
(a) It caused his illness.
(b) It caused the hurricane.
(c) It is no one's business but his own.
(d) It is the reason she is angry at him.

6. What color is the light in the man's bedroom?
(a) Grey.
(b) Blue.
(c) Yellow.
(d) Purple.

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

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

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

10. Why are rams' horns being blown all around the city?
(a) It is Rosh Hashanah.
(b) It is Sukkot.
(c) It is Hanukkah.
(d) It is Yom Kippur.

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

12. 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.

13. 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 not a Christian.
(b) She is White.
(c) She is Jewish.
(d) She is not Black.

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

15. Why does the main character find that the story she is working on is not an easy one to write?
(a) It is about religion.
(b) It is about friendship.
(c) It is about fear.
(d) It is about death.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the woman think might be preventing her from committing to a center for her story?

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

3. What detail does the story give about the shape of the tape on the windows?

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)?

5. Who is "thinking of writing a letter to the President" (20)?

(see the answer keys)

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