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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

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

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

5. What denomination is the last church that the woman visits?
(a) Episcopalian.
(b) Methodist.
(c) Congregationalist.
(d) Baptist.

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

7. 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) Allusion.
(b) Personification.
(c) Allegory.
(d) Simile.

8. 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 not Black.
(d) She is Jewish.

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

10. 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.

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

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

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

14. What detail in the description of the man's bedroom indicates how close the hurricane is getting?
(a) The flickering electricity.
(b) The television weather forecast.
(c) The windows rattling.
(d) The drawn blinds.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. For what reason, besides that "there may not be enough to tell about him," does the woman think that the man might not be the right "center" for her story (20)?

2. What does the narrator say "usually promises to be interesting" (19)?

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

4. After completing her first draft of the story, what does the woman realize about it?

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

(see the answer keys)

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