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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which of the following is one of the “red herrings” Vivian experiences during chemotherapy?
(a) Pneumonia.
(b) Liver poison.
(c) Hypertension.
(d) Jaundice.

2. What word does Vivian struggle with as she reads on her birthday?
(a) Sanguine.
(b) Crocuses.
(c) Vintage.
(d) Soporific.

3. When did Vivian lose her hair?
(a) After the first cycle of chemotherapy.
(b) It is still falling out.
(c) She shaved her head before she began chemotherapy.
(d) Between the fourth and fifth cycles of chemotherapy.

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

5. What is Vivian's only defense?
(a) The acquisition of vocabulary.
(b) Donne.
(c) The use of her extensive vocabulary.
(d) Demanding the doctors explain things on her level.

6. How does Vivian occupy herself while she waits for her physical exam?
(a) She sings.
(b) She speculates how her career path would have gone if she had not gotten cancer.
(c) She recites a sonnet by John Donne.
(d) She imagines she is giving a lecture.

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

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

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

10. What does Vivian say she is learning to do during her course of chemotherapy treatment?
(a) To survive.
(b) To be patient.
(c) To sleep.
(d) To suffer.

11. Why is Vivian's treatment aggressive?
(a) The tumor is very large.
(b) There are multiple tumors.
(c) It will keep the cancer from spreading.
(d) The tumor is spreading quickly.

12. What advantage do the doctors have over Vivian in the world of vocabulary?
(a) They only need to rely on what is in their textbooks.
(b) They understand her vocabulary, but she is unable to understand theirs.
(c) They do not care what words mean.
(d) They have a greater arsenal of vocabulary when it comes to medical terminology.

13. What percentage of the chemotherapy dose does Vivian have to take?
(a) 25%.
(b) 85%.
(c) 100%.
(d) It will vary based on the cycle number.

14. How does Vivian connect her new word with the story she is reading?
(a) The example her father gives her.
(b) When her teacher uses the word in class the next day.
(c) The illustration.
(d) A dictionary her father gives her.

15. How old is Vivian when Scene 7 opens?
(a) 5.
(b) 50.
(c) 18.
(d) 10.

Short Answer Questions

1. What sonnet is Vivian's paper about that must be done over?

2. What does Vivian want to document to the audience before grand rounds?

3. What is the definition of the word Vivian struggles with as she reads on her birthday?

4. How does Vivian think her colleagues would honor her memory?

5. What side effect of Vivian's medication trips up the fellows during grand rounds?

(see the answer keys)

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