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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. The unnamed narrator must leave in the middle of Noor's story one day during their shift to check if which item is in stock?
(a) Prunes.
(b) Figs.
(c) Dried mangoes.
(d) Artichokes.

2. How many minutes of the unnamed narrator's shift at the co-op passes during Noor's story?
(a) 30.
(b) 45.
(c) 90.
(d) 60.

3. How many years before narrative present did Noor's father die of a heart attack?
(a) 12.
(b) 5.
(c) 19.
(d) 3.

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

5. The only book the unnamed narrator brings to the residency is a book belonging to which genre?
(a) Mystery.
(b) Poetry.
(c) Science Fiction.
(d) Autobiography.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. During the unnamed narrator's residency, he must have what objects mailed to his temporary address in Texas?

3. How do Alena and Peter react to the unnamed narrator's response to the art in Alena's apartment?

4. What identity did Noor feel she had lost once she found out the true identity of her biological father?

5. How does the unnamed narrator react to holding pieces of a sculpture?

Short Essay Questions

1. What distinction does the unnamed narrator make between his requirements for reading conditions and his requirements for writing conditions?

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

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

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

5. Discuss an instance when Lerner includes an allusion to one of his own literary works.

6. In what way does the unnamed narrator set up a dichotomy between the art of the "readymade" (133) and the totaled art in Alena's institute?

7. How does Lerner use irony to portray the scene of the party depicted in Part Four?

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

9. For what purpose does the unnamed narrator visit the seventh floor of New-York Presbyterian Hospital at the beginning of Part Three?

10. How does the unnamed narrator react to holding the Jeff Koons balloon dog sculpture in Part Three and how do Alena and Peter react to his reaction?

(see the answer keys)

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