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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

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

4. 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 water level.
(d) The direction she is traveling.

5. 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 it was the High Holy Days.
(c) Because she wanted to use Biblical allusions in her writing.
(d) Because she needed comfort during the hurricane.

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

7. After completing her first draft of the story, what does the woman realize about it?
(a) She is losing touch with her passion as a writer.
(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 afraid that the content of the story will upset her friend.

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

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

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

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

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

13. 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) She is unclear about how she feels about the man.
(c) There is no real resolution to his story.
(d) This might not be the right time to tell his story.

14. What does the hurricane do to the city in the woman's story?
(a) Causes flooding that disrupts transportation.
(b) Produces winds that uproot trees and tear off several roofs.
(c) Passes by without actually striking the city.
(d) Drops large hail that smashes windows in buildings and in cars.

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

Short Answer Questions

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

2. Where is the woman's landlady from?

3. What is it logical to infer about the church women who are wearing red?

4. 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)?

5. What does the woman suspect that the man believes about his blasphemy?

(see the answer keys)

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