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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What ridiculous detail does Nathaniel give in his description of the last months of 1999?
(a) Preppers sealing their families into shelters underground.
(b) Cults announcing that aliens would come to Earth at midnight on New Year's Eve.
(c) Celebrity clairvoyants making wild predictions in the tabloids.
(d) Businesses desperately trying to teach their staffs how to do math without computerized cash registers.

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

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

4. What does Isaac do for a living?
(a) He owns a deli.
(b) He repairs cars.
(c) He is a rabbi.
(d) He makes vacuum cleaners.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What made tears come into Nathaniel's eyes the first time he saw Matsumoto's loft?

2. Why is Lyle sad all of the time?

3. From the story's context, when must Charlie have died?

4. What is Nathaniel's job in the narrative present?

5. What does Nathaniel say history teaches us?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did Nathaniel's friends come to live with him?

2. What is the meaning of the title of the section of the story called "Innocence"?

3. Where are Nathaniel and his friends, in the narrative present, and what are they doing?

4. Explain the non-event that "Nathaniel Recalls the Miracle" is centered on.

5. What phrase makes Lucien think about the frog and the boiling water, and why?

6. Describe Rose and Issac.

7. What qualities does Nathaniel have that worry his parents?

8. How does the "View" referred to in the third section of the story change in its significance for Nathaniel between his arrival in New York and the narrative present?

9. What is the "Reunion" referred to in the title of the sixth section of the story?

10. What is the "View" that the third section of the story is titled for, and why is it special?

(see the answer keys)

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