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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. According to Ballard, why did Vaughan's former career come to an abrupt end?
(a) Because he was seriously injured in a motorcycle crash.
(b) Because his wife died in a terrible car crash.
(c) Because he was institutionalized for his unconventional views.
(d) Because he was arrested and convicted of killing his lover.

2. Why would Vaughan arrange women in stylized positions in cars?
(a) To paint them.
(b) To write about them.
(c) To photograph them.
(d) To film them.

3. According to Ballard, all who knew Vaughan accepted what about a car-crash?
(a) Its "intellectual stimulation."
(b) Its "logical torture."
(c) Its "tragic flaw."
(d) Its "perverse eroticism."

4. In the parking lot outside the hospital, Ballard says that his hostility towards Vaughan gave way to what?
(a) Passion, even love.
(b) Fear, even panic.
(c) Admiration, even envy.
(d) Deference, even subservience.

5. Who witnessed Ballard inappropriately touch a flight attendant on an escalator and were on his flight to Orly?
(a) A British businessman and his wife.
(b) A French businessman and his wife.
(c) An American businessman and his wife.
(d) A Dutch businessman and his wife.

Short Answer Questions

1. What kind of business has Catherine started up with one of her boyfriends?

2. What is the name of the park where Ballard and Catherine's apartment is located?

3. Who tells Ballard that there is "a certain moral virtue in being materialistic"?

4. According to Ballard, what would Ballard and Vaughan listen to on their way to accident sites?

5. Where do Helen and Ballard's trysts take place?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why doesn't Catherine attend the funeral for Dr. Helen Remington's husband and what does it show about her character?

2. What is Helen Remington doing at the impound yard when Ballard returns to survey the damage to his car and what does it show about her character?

3. How do Ballard, Helen, and Vaughan react to Seagrave's accident at the stock-car races and why is it significant?

4. Why does Ballard recognize Dr. Robert Vaughan when he sees him with the camera in the parking garage and why is it significant?

5. Why is Dr. Robert Vaughan wanted by the police and how is it significant?

6. What kind of pleasure did Vaughan derive from car crashes and how is it significant?

7. Who is Elizabeth Taylor and what role does she play in the novel?

8. What is the chronology of the novel and why is it significant?

9. How does Dr. Helen Remington react to Ballard when he tries to speak to her in the hospital corridor?

10. Who is Karen and why is she significant?

(see the answer keys)

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