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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What item does Klara place upon each table on the night of her performance at the Cabaret theater called the Committee?
(a) A handkerchief.
(b) A glass of water.
(c) A rope.
(d) A business card.

2. What job does Gertie take after dropping out of college?
(a) Receptionist at a law firm.
(b) Cook at a restaurant.
(c) Typist at a medical office.
(d) Teller at a bank.

3. The Hindu family in the Gold family's building calls the fortune teller a "rishika" (5), which means a what?
(a) A spirit.
(b) An imp.
(c) A seer.
(d) A savant.

4. What feat does Klara tell Simon will be the main event within her magic show?
(a) A disappearing act.
(b) The Jaws of Life.
(c) A mirror maze.
(d) A ventriloquism act.

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

6. The narrator states that the timing of Klara's Jaws of Life trick must be "perfect or" (104) it will be what?
(a) Humiliating.
(b) Deadly.
(c) Disastrous.
(d) Chilling.

7. What does Klara do with the lacquered box once Gertie appears furious at its absence?
(a) She burns it.
(b) She hides it in the attic.
(c) She buries it in a vacant lot.
(d) She sneaks it back into her mother's drawer.

8. From what college does Gertie withdraw when she becomes pregnant with Saul's child at age 20?
(a) Brown University.
(b) New York University.
(c) Stanford University.
(d) Yale University.

9. How long after Simon's death is AIDS given its official name?
(a) Three days.
(b) Three weeks.
(c) Six months.
(d) Three months.

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

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

12. When the Gold children reach the fortune teller's door, Varya is surprised because she had thought that magic would be what?
(a) Magnetic.
(b) Tangible.
(c) Luminescent.
(d) Detectable.

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

14. What is the one thing Simon tells Daniel when he calls him for the first time since leaving home?
(a) He loves Gertie.
(b) The date foretold to him as the date of his death.
(c) He is sick.
(d) He misses Daniel.

15. Who steps in and stops the policeman's harassment of Simon outside of the police station?
(a) Klara.
(b) Gertie.
(c) Robert.
(d) Daniel.

Short Answer Questions

1. When a policeman asks Simon to come to the San Francisco police station, what does he tell Simon is the purpose of his visit?

2. At what location do Raj and Klara scavenge for wood to build Klara's magician's cabinet?

3. What date does the narrator finally reveal as the one foretold to Simon by the fortune teller?

4. What years are covered in Part One, Chapter One, when Simon's story is focused upon?

5. For how long has Klara been performing her magic act when she runs into Raj again?

(see the answer keys)

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