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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. What does the author describe her new therapist specializing in, in Chapter 1?
(a) Family counseling.
(b) Anxiety disorders.
(c) Trauma counseling.
(d) Marriage counseling.

2. The author describes Hennessy Youngman in Chapter 2, saying that "He advises black artists to cultivate" what?
(a) "A beacon of yesterday."
(b) "A wider world-view."
(c) "An angry nigger exterior."
(d) "An expression of desire."

3. What does the author describe her friend calling her because she is late in the beginning of Chapter 3?
(a) A "sister."
(b) A "nappy-headed ho."
(c) An "arrogant jerk."
(d) A "white woman."

4. What does the author say sighing does in Chapter 4?
(a) It elicits sympathy.
(b) It encourages.
(c) It entices.
(d) It upsets.

5. What does the author describe the passenger in her car telling her in Chapter 1?
(a) "That his dean is making him hire a person of color when there are so many great writers out there."
(b) "That his work was examining race in America."
(c) "He didn't care for his family or his friends."
(d) "That his wife is leaving him for the dean with whom she's been having an affair."

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is the "distinguished tennis chair umpire" described in Chapter 2 as "the most notorious of Serena's detractors"?

2. What tennis tournament have the Williams sisters boycotted since 2001?

3. In Chapter 3, the author describes Judith Baker discussing what makes language hurtful. She writes that Baker's response is "We suffer from the condition of being" what?

4. What does the author describe Serena Williams doing during the Women's U.S. Open final in Chapter 2?

5. What does the author claim "isn't a cure for feeling, it is a clean displacement of effort, will, and disappointment" in Chapter 4?

Short Essay Questions

1. What symbolism can be seen in Chapter 4?

2. Who is Franz Fanon and why does the author cite him in Chapter 2?

3. How does the author illustrate the differences between white and black experiences in Chapter 3?

4. How does the author describe Serena Williams's performance in the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open in Chapter 2?

5. What does the author suggest as a potential power in racist language in Chapter 3?

6. Who is Hennessy Youngman and what is discussed regarding him in Chapter 2?

7. Who is Judith Butler and why does the author cite her in Chapter 3?

8. How does the author describe Serena Williams's career in 2012?

9. What theme predominates Chapter 2 of Citizen: An American Lyric?

10. How would you describe the narrative style of Chapter 1? What is significant about the narrative style?

(see the answer keys)

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