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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. To what poor instrument did Sacks compare his injured leg?
(a) The dented clarinet he had as a child.
(b) The cracked cello in his living room.
(c) The smashed violin he had as a child.
(d) The broken saxophone he had kept since childhood.

2. Who came up with the phrase "quickening art" which described Sacks's use of music to move down the mountain?
(a) Pavlov.
(b) Nietzsche.
(c) Harvey.
(d) Kant.

3. When was Studies in Neurology published?
(a) 1930.
(b) 1910.
(c) 1940.
(d) 1920.

4. What was the public reaction to Sacks's first article about his leg?
(a) He does not say.
(b) Indignation.
(c) Indifference.
(d) Confusion.

5. What did Sacks hope to see when he reached the mountain's summit?
(a) A good view of the city.
(b) A good view of the surrounding mountains.
(c) The bull that lived there.
(d) The temple at the top.

Short Answer Questions

1. How old was Sacks when he discovered the beauty of the world through the Pythagorean theorem?

2. What was the first exercise that Sacks tried to do with the physiotherapist?

3. According to the plane captain, what is the first lesson a patient must learn?

4. What name did Sacks give his windowless hospital room?

5. Shortly after the sun set, what extraordinary auditory experience did Sacks have?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Sacks treat the warning sign about the bull? What does this reveal about his attitude?

2. During his first night out of the hospital, Sacks wept in the doorway of the convalescent home. Briefly summarize his experiences so far to explain the tears.

3. Sacks notes that "body-image is dynamic and plastic" (Afterword, pg 194). What does this mean?

4. How many patients with neurological disorders did Sacks study following his recovery? What does this number say about the people involved?

5. What is the literary effect of Sacks's description of his injury? Why do you think the injury is not detailed later?

6. How does Sacks describe the bull? How does this description show his change of heart from the time he read the warning sign?

7. All of Chapter Five is devoted to the moment Sacks took his first step. What literary effect does this have on the book?

8. During the late afternoon, what silence did Sacks experience? Why was this terrifying?

9. While in the hospital, Sacks felt morally and physically prostrate before the doctor. How do you think this happened?

10. What obvious differences existed between the injuries in Sacks's left leg and his right leg? What was the difference in their effects?

(see the answer keys)

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