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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

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

4. 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.

5. 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) The direction she is traveling.
(c) Her thoughts about religion.
(d) The water level.

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

7. After completing her first draft of the story, what does the woman realize about it?
(a) She understands more about herself and her life now that she has written it.
(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 is losing touch with her passion as a writer.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Short Answer Questions

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

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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