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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

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

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

5. What technique is used in the phrase "the stink of burning hair, fur, and horn" (19)?
(a) Onomatopoeia.
(b) Assonance.
(c) Synesthesia.
(d) Imagery.

6. In the story's opening sentence, what is implied about the main character's writing?
(a) She is losing interest in her career.
(b) More than one of her stories is uninteresting.
(c) Her readers are gradually deserting her.
(d) She does not deserve the praise she has gotten.

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

8. Where is the woman's landlady from?
(a) Trinidad.
(b) Barbados.
(c) Cuba.
(d) Jamaica.

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

10. 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 color of his face.
(d) The sounds he is making.

11. Why does the man in the story feel so ill?
(a) He has cancer.
(b) He has food poisoning.
(c) He has the flu.
(d) He is having a heart attack.

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

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

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

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

Short Answer Questions

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

2. On her train ride, what does the woman realize she has not given much thought to?

3. After completing her first draft of the story, what does the woman realize about it?

4. How does the woman realize her study of religion has made her feel?

5. Besides reading the Bible, what else does the woman spend her time doing in the period of time her story is about?

(see the answer keys)

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