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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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. 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)?
(a) There is no real resolution to his story.
(b) This might not be the right time to tell his story.
(c) The man will be angry that she wrote about him.
(d) She is unclear about how she feels about the man.

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

5. What does the sick man want when he calls the main character?
(a) He wants her to come over and help him.
(b) He wants to talk about death and the afterlife.
(c) He wants to apologize for the argument they recently had.
(d) He wants her advice about whether to go to the hospital.

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

7. For the majority of the story, what tone does the narrator adopt?
(a) Melancholic.
(b) Dismissive.
(c) Objective.
(d) Amused.

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

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

10. 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 thoughts about religion.
(c) Her distance from the city.
(d) The water level.

11. 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 does not deserve the praise she has gotten.
(c) She is losing interest in her career.
(d) Her readers are gradually deserting her.

12. Where is the woman's landlady from?
(a) Trinidad.
(b) Barbados.
(c) Jamaica.
(d) Cuba.

13. How does the woman realize her study of religion has made her feel?
(a) Guilty.
(b) Energized.
(c) Peaceful.
(d) Confused.

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What denomination is the last church that the woman visits?

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

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

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. Why does the man in the story feel so ill?

(see the answer keys)

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