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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In "Why I Don't Write," what claim is made about the impact of having children on female writers?
(a) It focuses their writing too narrowly.
(b) It is an obstacle to their success.
(c) It deepens the emotion of their work.
(d) It makes them more creative.

2. In "Café Mort," what were the Russian dancer's dances about when she was alive?
(a) Love.
(b) Despair.
(c) Hope.
(d) Anger.

3. In "Café Mort," what is true of all of the employees?
(a) They are dead.
(b) They are in mourning.
(c) They are figments of the narrator's imagination.
(d) They are in limbo.

4. In "Boston Common at Twilight," why are Ned's parents splitting up?
(a) Ned's father wants to move the family to the West Coast for his business.
(b) Ned's father is under criminal investigation.
(c) Because of Ned's mother's drinking.
(d) Ned's father has fallen in love with another woman.

5. In "While It Lasts," what does Bonnie find so compelling about George?
(a) His high-powered job.
(b) His lack of anxiety.
(c) His attention to detail.
(d) His sense of humor.

6. In "While It Lasts," what does Isabel claim is "antisocial" (80)?
(a) Refusing to drink alcohol.
(b) Inside jokes.
(c) Leaving a party early.
(d) Falling in love.

7. In "Boston Common at Twilight," what temporarily makes Ned feel safer?
(a) The woman calls him "sugar."
(b) The woman stops at a bodega for cigarettes.
(c) The woman tells him that she does not want to hurt him.
(d) The woman tells him that she will let him use her phone.

8. In "Café Mort," what do the regular patrons talk about constantly?
(a) Funerals.
(b) Fairy tales.
(c) Politics.
(d) Clichéd advice.

9. In "While It Lasts," why is Bonnie unable to hear the last thing that Mr. Buffy tries to tell her?
(a) The wind is too loud.
(b) George hurries her away.
(c) Mr. Buffy is on the other side of the glass door.
(d) A car honks its horn just as he speaks.

10. In "Why I Don't Write," what is a logical antecedent for "one" in the sentence "He got another one, prettier, younger" (72)?
(a) Friend.
(b) Colleague.
(c) Boss.
(d) Wife.

11. In "Café Mort," what does the narrator guess about the man "with eyes ringed like a raccoon's" (94)?
(a) He was murdered.
(b) He is a writer.
(c) He is only recently dead.
(d) He is in love with Rita.

12. In "Boston Common at Twilight," what is the rhetorical purpose of mentioning the rip in Ned's parka?
(a) It demonstrates that he is careless.
(b) It reinforces how young he is.
(c) It reveals the family's poverty.
(d) It introduces Ned's capacity for violence.

13. In "Boston Common at Twilight," what sport is Ned involved in?
(a) Hockey.
(b) Lacrosse.
(c) Football.
(d) Diving.

14. In "While It Lasts," what does George compliment Isabel on?
(a) Her legs.
(b) Her wit.
(c) Her smile.
(d) Her voice.

15. In "Café Mort," who comes in with the electrocuted woman?
(a) Her husband.
(b) Her daughter.
(c) Her nurse.
(d) Her sister.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Boston Common at Twilight," what is Ned's reason for going to Boston Common?

2. On page 71 of "Why I Don't Write," of which author does the narrator say, "Open any page...and have the top of your head taken off"?

3. In "While It Lasts," what comparison does Bonnie make between George and Mr. Buffy?

4. On page 73 of "Why I Don't Write," the list of what "Bob Dylan says," ("He's all right" and "He's not all right") is an example of which technique?

5. In "Boston Common at Twilight," where is Ned's family home?

(see the answer keys)

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