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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In what year does Simon move out of the Collingswood apartment he shares with Klara?
(a) 1969.
(b) 1974.
(c) 1980.
(d) 1985.

2. In what year does the novel's prologue begin?
(a) 1969.
(b) 1978.
(c) 1982.
(d) 1960.

3. Simon recalls that the fortune teller had never asked for what item?
(a) Money.
(b) His name.
(c) Forgiveness.
(d) His palm.

4. What requirement does Klara have for the nightclubs at which she will perform?
(a) They must be dimly lit.
(b) They must have high ceilings.
(c) They must not allow smoking.
(d) They must have dressing rooms.

5. The title of the novel refers to what aspect of its plot?
(a) Simon uses the term to refer to Klara's recklessness.
(b) The Immortalist is the name of Klara's act.
(c) Saul used to call thunder clouds The Immortalists.
(d) The Immortalists is the name of Varya's antique shop.

6. What do the Gold siblings bring to the fortune teller as payment for her services?
(a) A sand dollar.
(b) Their mother's set of tarot cards.
(c) Money.
(d) A dead rat.

7. What kind of job does Simon find when he and Klara arrive in San Francisco?
(a) Bouncer.
(b) Valet.
(c) Cook.
(d) Go-go dancer.

8. What reason does Klara state for not calling the family to notify them of Simon's illness?
(a) She did not want to worry Gertie.
(b) She had not known the depth of Simon's illness.
(c) It was not her right.
(d) Simon had begged her not to.

9. To whom does adult Daniel bear a resemblance, according to Klara?
(a) Their father Saul.
(b) Their sister Varya.
(c) His brother Simon.
(d) Their grandfather Otto.

10. What is NOT one way in which Simon describes his father Saul?
(a) Timid.
(b) Decorous.
(c) Courageous.
(d) A man who skirts conflict.

11. What is the name of the policeman who roughs up Simon outside of the police station?
(a) Brian.
(b) Marty.
(c) Eddie.
(d) Jeffrey.

12. What phenomenon had Klara found magical as a child before finding out its true nature?
(a) Red tide.
(b) Aurora Borealis.
(c) Acid rain.
(d) Electricity.

13. Who is the youngest sibling in the Gold family?
(a) Daniel.
(b) Simon.
(c) Klara.
(d) Varya.

14. What does Daniel say he is doing when Simon asks?
(a) He is staying at home to care for his children.
(b) He is in culinary school.
(c) He is in medical school.
(d) He is managing Saul's dressmaking business.

15. What is NOT named among Simon's "earliest memories of Ward 86" (87)?
(a) The squeak of meal carts.
(b) The shocked looks on the young patients' faces.
(c) The calm voices of the nurses.
(d) Robert's terrified eyes.

Short Answer Questions

1. What item does Klara place upon each table on the night of her performance at the Cabaret theater called the Committee?

2. What does Klara do with the lacquered box once Gertie appears furious at its absence?

3. The Hindu family in the Gold family's building calls the fortune teller a "rishika" (5), which means a what?

4. Who spends the night with Simon in Ward 86 once he is diagnosed with the illness that will come to be known as AIDS?

5. What words does Klara whisper to her audience at the conclusion of every show?

(see the answer keys)

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