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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why does Vivian ring the bell after she vomits?
(a) So she can get help going to the restroom.
(b) So she can have a fresh glass of water.
(c) So she can have some ice chips.
(d) So the vomit can be added to her chart.

2. Why does Vivian go into the hospital at the beginning of Scene 8?
(a) She is scheduled for her fifth cycle of chemotherapy.
(b) She wants to say hello to Susie.
(c) She was in a car accident.
(d) She has a fever.

3. How long did Vivian study with Ashford?
(a) Until she completed her Ph.D.
(b) Six years.
(c) One year.
(d) Three years.

4. What author does Vivian quote at the end of Scene 1?
(a) John Keats.
(b) John Donne.
(c) William Wordsworth.
(d) William Shakespeare.

5. What turn does Vivian's vocabulary take in Scene 5?
(a) A turn for the colloquial.
(b) A turn for the less eloquent.
(c) A turn for the Anglo-Saxon.
(d) A turn for the vernacular.

6. How would Vivian tell her students to think of her situation?
(a) As irony.
(b) As a puzzle.
(c) As allusion.
(d) As wit.

7. What sonnet is Vivian's paper about that must be done over?
(a) Holy Sonnet Ten.
(b) Holy Sonnet Five.
(c) Lady Lazarus.
(d) Holy Sonnet Six.

8. What does Vivian think would be a great loss to her discipline?
(a) Her death.
(b) Barfing her brains out.
(c) Retiring.
(d) Allowing her colleagues to hear her vocabulary.

9. Who is Kelekian?
(a) Vivian's supervisor at work.
(b) Vivian's oncologist.
(c) Vivian's mentor.
(d) Vivian's colleague.

10. What example does Vivian's father give her to help her understand the definition of the word she struggles with?
(a) His Victorian Era settee.
(b) Boring dinner conversation.
(c) Deer ticks.
(d) Vivian's mother's flower-bed.

11. How does Vivian treat words?
(a) With respect.
(b) As life-blood.
(c) As weapons.
(d) As friends.

12. What is the title of the book Vivian published?
(a) Death Be Not Proud.
(b) Made Cunningly.
(c) A Biography of John Donne.
(d) Donne and Death: a Comprehensive Text.

13. Why does Vivian have to wait for her physical exam?
(a) She wants to create suspense for the audience.
(b) Jason has to find Susie.
(c) Kelekian is with another patient.
(d) She is early for her appointment.

14. What question does Vivian discuss in her opening monologue?
(a) “How are you feeling today?”
(b) “Do you have any questions?”
(c) “Do you understand?”
(d) “Does that sound good?”

15. What does Vivian say about medical terms in comparison to the words of Donne?
(a) They are more weighty.
(b) They are less poetic.
(c) They are less evocative.
(d) They are more clinical.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to Gardner's translation, what separates life from life everlasting?

2. Who does Vivian ask Susie to call for her when Susie offers?

3. What false name does Vivian give a technician?

4. What translation should Vivian have used?

5. What is Vivian's only defense?

(see the answer keys)

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