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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

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 understands more about herself and her life now that she has written it.
(c) She cannot remember why she wanted to write it in the first place.
(d) She is losing touch with her passion as a writer.

4. Besides reading the Bible, what else does the woman spend her time doing in the period of time her story is about?
(a) She looks out the window and watches the news.
(b) She shops for emergency supplies and fills her tub with water.
(c) She reads the Koran and the Talmud.
(d) She calls each of her family members and friends.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is with the landlady when the landlady is talking about the mayor?

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

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

4. What detail of the woman's train ride reinforces the motif of things that come close to happening but do not actually happen?

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

(see the answer keys)

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