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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What singer did the man in the motorcycle jacket on the bus remind Peter of?
(a) Buddy Holly.
(b) Roy Orbison.
(c) Elvis Presley.
(d) Jerry Lee Lewis.

2. In what year did the book open?
(a) 1959.
(b) 1913.
(c) 1957.
(d) 1962.

3. What did Aunt Nona major in while at Barnard?
(a) French.
(b) Economics.
(c) History.
(d) English.

4. To what town was Balakian taking his girlfriend when he refused to return home for his grandmother's memorial service?
(a) Cambridge.
(b) Amherst.
(c) Boston.
(d) Princeton.

5. What stock did grandmother recommend buying after she had a dream?
(a) NBC.
(b) AT&T.
(c) IBM.
(d) GE.

6. Whose biography was Peter's grandmother reading when he came down late at night to get a bite to eat?
(a) Teddy Roosevelt.
(b) Abraham Lincoln.
(c) Mary Todd Lincoln.
(d) Eleanor Roosevelt.

7. On how many hills was Constantinople built?
(a) Ten.
(b) Six.
(c) Four.
(d) Seven.

8. At what age did Balakian's father leave France for the United States?
(a) Eight.
(b) Ten.
(c) Four.
(d) Six.

9. What was the nickname of Arkayutiun, the soup Balakian ate while sick?
(a) Soup of the Soul.
(b) Soup of Life.
(c) Soup of Love.
(d) Soup of Heaven.

10. What kind of car did the Aroosian women drive during their house-viewing expeditions in 1958?
(a) An Oldsmobile.
(b) A Cadillac.
(c) A Chevrolet.
(d) A Ford.

11. What book caused a racial flareup among the football players during Balakian's freshmen year at college?
(a) Eldridge Cleaver's Soul on Ice.
(b) Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man.
(c) The Autobiography of Malcolm X.
(d) W.E.B. DuBois' The Souls of Black Folk.

12. In what year did Balakian's father save the man having the heart attack at a Columbia game?
(a) 1960.
(b) 1955.
(c) 1956.
(d) 1958.

13. What does the phrase, "Mairig Asdvadzadzeen," mean?
(a) Mother of God.
(b) Son of God.
(c) Holy Spirit.
(d) Holy Ghost.

14. According to Armenian legend, what animal was Adam's first companion in the Garden of Eden?
(a) Tiger.
(b) Elk.
(c) Snake.
(d) Musk ox.

15. In what grade was Peter during the Cuban Missile Crisis?
(a) Eighth.
(b) Fifth.
(c) Sixth.
(d) Fourth.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the word hokee mean?

2. What meat did the Balakian family frequently eat for dinner?

3. What is berek?

4. What food did Balakian's mother bring when she visited during the talk by Allen Ginsberg?

5. About how many words did the World Book encyclopedia have on Armenia when Balakian tried to research his culture?

(see the answer keys)

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