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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) Her next story.
(b) The newscasters.
(c) The devil.
(d) Her friend's illness.

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

3. 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 death.
(c) It is about friendship.
(d) It is about religion.

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

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

6. 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 Jewish.
(c) She is White.
(d) She is not Black.

7. What detail does the story give about the shape of the tape on the windows?
(a) It is shaped like asterisks.
(b) It is shaped like crosses.
(c) It is shaped like the letter "x."
(d) It is shaped like diamonds.

8. 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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 thoughts about religion.
(b) Her distance from the city.
(c) The direction she is traveling.
(d) The water level.

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

Short Answer Questions

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

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

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

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

5. What does the hurricane do to the city in the woman's story?

(see the answer keys)

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