View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. 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) Cursed God's name.
(d) Contemplated suicide.

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

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

5. 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 reads the Koran and the Talmud.
(c) She shops for emergency supplies and fills her tub with water.
(d) She calls each of her family members and friends.

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

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

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

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

10. 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 cannot remember why she wanted to write it in the first place.
(c) She is afraid that the content of the story will upset her friend.
(d) She understands more about herself and her life now that she has written it.

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

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

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

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

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

Short Answer Questions

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

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

4. What technique is used in the phrase "the stink of burning hair, fur, and horn" (19)?

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

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 640 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample