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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. On what floor of the hospital is the fertility office, where the unnamed narrator is scheduled to give a semen sample?
(a) 6th.
(b) 2nd.
(c) 7th.
(d) 4th.

2. What does the unnamed narrator describe in his comments at Columbia's School of Arts as the "shadow language to Reagan's official narrative processing of the national tragedy" (114)?
(a) Challenger jokes.
(b) Iran Contra jokes.
(c) My Lai jokes.
(d) Oklahoma City bombing jokes.

3. Noor tells the unnamed narrator that her late father had shared a "strong sense" of what kind of "identity" (99) with her?
(a) Chilean.
(b) Iranian.
(c) Lebanese.
(d) Cuban.

4. About what subject does the unnamed narrator pontificate when the intern begs him to speak aloud?
(a) The qualities of the equator.
(b) The construction of the Brooklyn Bridge.
(c) The spawning of salmon.
(d) Pluto's demoted status.

5. What form of communication does the unnamed narrator use to communicate with Alena during his residency?
(a) None.
(b) Email.
(c) Phone calls.
(d) Text messages.

Short Answer Questions

1. Alena puts the pieces of a shattered sculpture by which artist into the unnamed narrator's hands?

2. One morning, the unnamed narrator wakes up to find that what noisy activity is going on nearby?

3. Which element of the physical world never gives the unnamed narrator a "little thrill" (107)?

4. How many hours does it take for Michael to drive the unnamed narrator from the airport to his residency house?

5. How many "substantial lines" does the intern do "in quick succession" (185) in an attempt to impress the unnamed narrator at the party?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the unnamed narrator's specific reason for feeling the way he does about the totaled art?

2. How does the theme of fatherhood enter the narrative in Part Four?

3. How does the theme of identity arise within the story about her family Noor relates to the unnamed narrator in Part Three?

4. How does the unnamed narrator meet Noor?

5. How does the unnamed narrator's usual routine change during his writers' residency?

6. What mistake does the intern make in Part Four and what similar mistake does the unnamed narrator make?

7. What are the consequences of the mistake the intern makes in Part Four?

8. The unnamed narrator finds himself working diligently in Texas, but "on the wrong thing" (170). What other piece does he work on instead?

9. What is the only low point in the adventure Roberto and the unnamed narrator go on together in Part Three?

10. For what reason does the unnamed narrator travel to Texas in Part Four?

(see the answer keys)

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