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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, who "resembled rows of the dead looking down at us from the galleries of a columbarium"?
(a) The crashed cars at the impound.
(b) The headstones at the funeral home.
(c) The passengers in an airline coach.
(d) The prostitutes on the pedestrian bridge.

2. Why does Ballard adjust the rear view mirror as he drives with Vaughan and the two airport prostitutes?
(a) To see if Seagrave is following them.
(b) To watch the two girls have sex.
(c) To see if Catherine is following them.
(d) To watch Vaughan and the girl have sex.

3. What does Vaughan hold in his hand that he claims can help recreate the Mansfield, Camus, and Kennedy crashes?
(a) Lab handouts.
(b) Freeway designs.
(c) Studio outtakes.
(d) Hospital x-rays.

4. What happens to the young woman chauffeur of the government saloon on the Harlington clearway?
(a) She has minor injuries.
(b) She is uninjured.
(c) She is badly injured.
(d) She dies.

5. Whose body does Ballard visualize injured in a series of accidents at various stages of her life?
(a) His mother.
(b) His wife.
(c) His sister.
(d) His daughter.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to Ballard, "It isn't sex that Vaughan is interested in, but _______."

2. Why do the police signal to Vaughan when Ballard and Vaughan leave Ballard's studio?

3. According to Ballard, each of Gabrielle's body was a "ripening anthology of ______possibilities."

4. How does Seagrave preempt the "real death" that Vaughan reserved for himself?

5. What kind of alcohol does Ballard buy from the bar?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do Ballard and Vaughan do after they pick up two prostitutes and why is it relevant to the larger story?

2. What does Ballard think of when he introduces Catherine to Vaughan and why is it relevant?

3. What does Ballard fantasize about as he has sex with Gabrielle and what does it mean?

4. What kinds of photos are in the album Vaughan shows Ballard at Seagrave's house and what does Ballard notice about them?

5. At Seagrave's, what does Ballard deduce about Vaughan's photographs of Elizabeth Taylor and provides insight into why Vaughan followed Ballard?

6. Where do Catherine and Vaughan have sex and why is it significant?

7. How does Vaughan begin to change as the novel progresses?

8. Why is Seagrave's disappearance important to the plot?

9. What is Elizabeth Taylor shooting at the studio where Ballard works and how is it significant?

10. Describe Catherine's fantasies about Vaughan, how they pertain to Ballard, and their impact on her and Ballard's marriage.

(see the answer keys)

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