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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why did Sacks refer to the doctor's visits as "odious" (Chapter Six, pg 159)?
(a) He had to play the part of the accepting, passive patient.
(b) He did not trust or like the doctor.
(c) He preferred to be the doctor as the patient.
(d) The doctor was unusually harsh with him.

2. When Sacks talks about the hole in memory and identity, what is he referring to (Afterword, pg 200)?
(a) A hole in his sense of selfhood.
(b) A hole in the primary consciousness.
(c) A hole in his subconscious understanding of the world.
(d) A hole in the higher-order consciousness.

3. At what moment did Sacks's leg "return" to his body?
(a) When he had taken several steps.
(b) When he heard Mendelssohn's music in his head.
(c) When he walked and felt sensation in it.
(d) When he remembered the rhythm of hiking up the mountain.

4. What word does Nietzsche use to describe the feeling that convalescence brings?
(a) Calmness.
(b) Brightness.
(c) Inebriation.
(d) Intoxication.

5. During his recovery, what did Sacks decide was the most important thing of all?
(a) Family.
(b) Life.
(c) Strength.
(d) Health.

6. Sacks references a chapter in Luria's book The Man with a Shattered World that profoundly affected his thoughts about recovery. What was the name of this chapter?
(a) "Under the World."
(b) "Reconstruction."
(c) "The Turning Point."
(d) "The Moment of Light."

7. What vital change in the world happened once Sacks moved out of his first hospital room?
(a) He was intimidated by the vastness of the world.
(b) He reinforced his individuality.
(c) He felt distant from the other patients though he had expected to feel closer.
(d) He became part of a community again.

8. What colors were the Head books which Sacks bought?
(a) Green and red.
(b) Black and white.
(c) Yellow and purple.
(d) Red and white.

9. In Chapter Five, Sacks quotes poetry to explain the importance of music: "You are the music/ While the music lasts." Who wrote these lines?
(a) Eliot.
(b) Kant.
(c) St. John of the Cross.
(d) Nietzsche.

10. When did scotoma overwhelm Sacks the most?
(a) At night.
(b) When he was happy.
(c) When he was tired.
(d) Early afternoon.

11. Who, in Sacks's family, had worked closely with Head?
(a) His cousin.
(b) His father.
(c) His brother.
(d) His mother.

12. While in limbo, what feeling did Sacks have to allow, which he first found humiliating?
(a) Inadequacy.
(b) Activity.
(c) Inerrancy.
(d) Passivity.

13. What escapade did Sacks try to pull during his last night in the hospital?
(a) Walking the edge of his second-story balcony.
(b) Walking around the grounds unattended.
(c) Asking the night nurse out for a drink.
(d) Climbing a ladder to the roof.

14. Before he took a step, what visual problem did Sacks have?
(a) He could not judge objects or distances.
(b) He could not see his feet.
(c) He could not distinguish colors.
(d) The floor looked closer than it actually was.

15. Previous to this injury, when Sacks had had electrical currents applied to his injured neck muscles, what happened?
(a) His neck muscles had remained tense and nearly immobile.
(b) He felt shooting pains in his back.
(c) His neck muscles immediately relaxed.
(d) He had the undeniable impulse to shrug.

Short Answer Questions

1. What two sounds was Sacks caught between?

2. Sacks did not attend the memorial service for W. H. Auden because he thought he was too weak to travel. Where was this service held?

3. What important concept did Sacks find in Kant's writing?

4. On one particular September morning, why did Sacks deeply enjoy lighting his pipe?

5. How does Sack describe his thoughts during the first moments of standing again?

(see the answer keys)

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