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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is thrown into the crowd of guests as soon as the wedding prayers have finished in Part III?
(a) Coins.
(b) Dates.
(c) Candy.
(d) Rice.

2. What does Bilqeece believe is wrong in her relationship with Asghar, as described in Part III?
(a) It is natural for husband and wife to grow apart over time.
(b) He is ashamed that he cannot provide more for her.
(c) There are too many members of her family living with them.
(d) She must have done something wrong and made him angry.

3. What is Saeed Hasan disappointed in when he comes to visit Asghar's home in Part III?
(a) The house is too close to Bilqeece's family.
(b) There is no separate area for women.
(c) There is a lot of English furniture.
(d) The house is very small.

4. Who overhears the discussion between Begam Nihal and Asghar about his wish to marry Zohra?
(a) Anjum Zamani.
(b) The Hunchbacked Aunt.
(c) Dilchain.
(d) Begam Jamal.

5. How does Asghar show his appreciation for Nasim's poetry recitation?
(a) He gives the boy a rupee.
(b) He brings friends over to listen to the poem.
(c) He offers to pay Nasim's school tuition.
(d) He teaches Nasim another poem.

6. What are the grave robbers looking for when they start digging up pandemic victims?
(a) Shoes.
(b) Jewelry.
(c) Burial shrouds.
(d) Gold and silver dental fillings.

7. In Part IV, why does Mir Nihal stop praying when he hears Nisar Ahmad call the azaan?
(a) He is angry at Nisar Ahmad.
(b) He cannot move himself to perform the prayers correctly.
(c) He no longer remembers the words of the prayers.
(d) He no longer believes in God.

8. What additional insult to the dead often occurs after grave robbers dig up their corpses?
(a) They are sold to medical schools.
(b) Thieves steal and ransom the bodies.
(c) Scavenger animals eat from their bodies.
(d) They are moved into mass burial sites.

9. What historical event begins in the opening of Part III, Chapter 8?
(a) World War I.
(b) World War II.
(c) The first meeting of the Indian National Congress.
(d) Mahatma Gandhi's non-cooperation campaign

10. What does Bilqeece's family mix with the hand-washing water that the men of the Nihal family use after the wedding feast?
(a) Attar.
(b) Dye powder.
(c) Kerosene.
(d) Flower petals.

11. What is foreshadowed by the epigraph that prefaces Part IV?
(a) Mir Nihal's decline.
(b) Bilqeece's death.
(c) The flu epidemic.
(d) Asghar's relationship with Zohra.

12. What does Mir Nihal do to pass the time while he is stuck in bed following his stroke?
(a) He writes poetry.
(b) He reads.
(c) He talks with Ghafoor.
(d) He traps rats.

13. What does Mir Nihal do when Asghar comes to his house wearing English clothes in Part IV?
(a) He pretends to be asleep.
(b) He pretends not to know Asghar.
(c) He throws Asghar out.
(d) He does nothing.

14. Besides the high winds, what about the summer makes the narrator say, "Nature herself...seemed angry with the people of Hindustan" (169)?
(a) The mountains of waste outside Delhi.
(b) World War I.
(c) The flu pandemic.
(d) Bilqeece's death.

15. In the book's final line, what is night said to cover up "in its blanket of darkness and gloom" (200)?
(a) "God's creation and His plans."
(b) The "empires of the world."
(c) The "fortunes and misfortunes of Hindustan."
(d) "Mir Nihal's fragmented dreams."

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Bilqeece make Begam Shahbaz promise her in Part III, Chapter 10?

2. What household responsibility has Asghar taken on in the wake of Bilqeece's death?

3. In Part III, what are the residents of Delhi afraid will happen once New Delhi is completed?

4. In Part III, Chapter 5, who gets Asghar a job?

5. Why do the women not spend time with Mir Nihal during the day in Part III after he has had a stroke?

(see the answer keys)

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