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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Of all of the things that Nathaniel can see from Matsumoto's loft, which is most important to him?
(a) The Statue of Liberty.
(b) The Chrysler Building.
(c) The World Trade Center.
(d) The Empire State Building.

2. To whom does Nathaniel imagine telling the story of the Y2K computer issue?
(a) A historian.
(b) His children.
(c) His readers.
(d) His grandchildren.

3. After Charlie became ill, what did Lucien feel was happening to the world?
(a) It was melting away into nothing.
(b) It was all turning into paper.
(c) It was shattering like broken glass.
(d) It was burning down around him.

4. Where did Nathaniel live before he moved to New York?
(a) Minnesota.
(b) California.
(c) The Midwest.
(d) The Southwest.

5. From the story's context, when must Charlie have died?
(a) In the year 2000.
(b) Shortly after the September 11th attack.
(c) Before the year 2000.
(d) In the year 2003.

6. What is Nathaniel's job in the narrative present?
(a) He is a bartender at a bar near Matsumoto's loft.
(b) He works on the floor of the New York Stock exchange.
(c) He works in the New York subway's architecture department.
(d) He works as a building manager for Matsumoto.

7. What do Rose and Isaac ask Lucien to do when he calls Nathaniel after Nathaniel arrives in New York?
(a) Find Nathaniel a place to live.
(b) Not tell Nathaniel that they asked Lucien to call.
(c) Get Nathaniel a job.
(d) Tell Nathaniel to go back home.

8. Where did Nathaniel meet Madison, Amity, and Lyle?
(a) In college.
(b) At a bar near Matsumoto's loft.
(c) In high school.
(d) At his first job in New York.

9. What does Nathaniel suggest that people might be desperate enough to burn in the wake of a global computer failure?
(a) Stacks of money.
(b) Their designer clothing and shoes.
(c) Their children's elementary school artwork.
(d) Their old issues of the New York Review.

10. What is Russell's business relationship to Amity?
(a) He works with her at the stock exchange.
(b) He is her lawyer.
(c) He is her book agent.
(d) He is an employee of her P.R. firm.

11. What does Nathaniel say that ceremonial occasions remind us about?
(a) That time only moves in one direction.
(b) That we should love one another.
(c) That life is unpredictable.
(d) That ideas are bigger than any one person.

12. Besides their minimal rent, what task are Nathaniel and his roommates performing in exchange for a place to live?
(a) They take care of Matsumoto's cats.
(b) They are repainting the loft.
(c) They sort through and forward Matsumoto's mail.
(d) They collect the rent from Matsumoto's other tenants.

13. To what does Nathaniel compare the sight of Manhattan from Matsumoto's loft?
(a) A glass of champagne.
(b) Van Gogh's Starry Night.
(c) The circuit board of a computer.
(d) A miniature city from his childhood train set.

14. Which of the possible consequences of a global computer failure that Nathaniel mentions could be considered foreshadowing?
(a) The idea that people might be trapped in high-rise elevators.
(b) The idea that airplanes might lose their guidance systems and crash.
(c) The idea that hospitals might not be able to monitor patients.
(d) The idea that widespread food shortages might occur.

15. When Lucien is in the gallery imagining that he is with Charlie, what does he promise her?
(a) He will try to think more kindly about Rose and Isaac.
(b) He will find another woman to love and be happy again.
(c) He will put more energy into the gallery.
(d) He will find another apartment for Nathaniel.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the name of Lucien's assistant?

2. Which character works for Itami Systems?

3. What does Nathaniel do with his spare time that his parents find worrisome?

4. Why is Lyle sad all of the time?

5. What does Lucien end up saying to his assistant on page 8 when he wants to give her a piece of advice?

(see the answer keys)

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