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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the name of the narrator's hometown?
(a) Moravia.
(b) Bratislava.
(c) Brno.
(d) Prague.

2. What was Helena doing at the age of eighteen?
(a) In the gallows.
(b) Espionage.
(c) Schoolwork.
(d) Raising her child.

3. Ludvik decides to leave his hotel shortly after arriving for the first time. What does he want to do?
(a) Ask an acquaintance for a discreet favor.
(b) Obtain something to eat.
(c) Buy a new suit.
(d) Send a letter at the post office.

4. What is Helena doing the evening of the beginning of part two?
(a) Cleaning her house until the dawn.
(b) Mending clothes all night.
(c) Staying up late to read.
(d) Going to bed early.

5. After Ludvik's meeting with the board he is prompted by a Communist friend to go see who?
(a) Milan.
(b) Jaroslav.
(c) Zemanek.
(d) Pavel.

6. What is the name of the narrator of the first section of the novel?
(a) Ludvik.
(b) Milan.
(c) Helena.
(d) Jaroslav.

7. According to Helena, what does Zemanek live on?
(a) His morals.
(b) Hard work.
(c) Drink.
(d) Applause.

8. When did Ludvik meet Marketa?
(a) Around 1945
(b) Around 1958.
(c) Around 1948.
(d) Around 1940.

9. When Marketa and Ludvik reunite at University, how does Marketa act?
(a) She ignores Ludvik completely.
(b) She professes her love for Ludvik.
(c) She tells Ludvik she has another lover.
(d) Exactly the same.

10. What is the name of the man Ludvik asks for at the booth at the gate of the hospital?
(a) Dr. Klara
(b) Dr. Kostka.
(c) Dr. Zemanek.
(d) Dr. Lucie

11. Once Ludvik lost the rights to his University studies he expected to be notified of what compulsory service?
(a) Education.
(b) Military.
(c) Construction.
(d) Sanitation.

12. The day following their one-day reunion, Ludvik phones Marketa. What happens?
(a) Marketa makes a date with him that weekend.
(b) A stranger tells Ludvik that Marketa moved to Prague.
(c) A stranger tells Ludvik that Marketa moved to Bratislava.
(d) Marketa makes a date with him that night.

13. Where does the narrator go after he leaves the town square?
(a) To see a dear friend.
(b) His mother's house.
(c) His old school.
(d) His hotel.

14. How many empty chairs are at the barber where Ludvik goes to get a shave?
(a) One.
(b) Four.
(c) Two.
(d) Three.

15. Where was Ludvik summoned the day after he returned to his post at University in his third year?
(a) The District Party Headquarters.
(b) The Station of the League of Students.
(c) Stalin's Command Center.
(d) The Party Pentagon.

Short Answer Questions

1. Helena claims she would do anything to save her marriage. Why?

2. How did Helena meet Ludvik?

3. When Ludvik finally goes before the plenary session of the Department of Natural Sciences, how many people speak for him?

4. After a disappointing leave in pursuit of the infamous 'Candlestick,' Ludvik decides the same weekend as Stana's wedding to go off on his own. Who does Ludvik meet this weekend?

5. What does Ludvik's group, marked by their black insignia, work on every morning?

(see the answer keys)

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