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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 type of establishment is described at the start of “A Man with Strong Hands”?
(a) A restaurant.
(b) A nail salon.
(c) A pub.
(d) A movie theater.

2. In “A Provocation in the Park,” what types of crimes does Smith say she has trouble deciphering the nuances of?
(a) Arson.
(b) Hate crimes.
(c) Theft.
(d) Misdemeanors.

3. At the end of “An Elder at the 98 Bus Stop,” what does Smith’s mother say lockdown is doing to people?
(a) Making them lazy.
(b) Driving them crazy.
(c) Bringing them peace.
(d) Slowing them down.

4. What did Smith have printed on a T-shirt when she first moved to NYC?
(a) Black Nerd.
(b) University Nerd.
(c) Prof. Smith.
(d) Black Genius.

5. How old is the woman who approached Smith at the bus stop?
(a) 79.
(b) 58.
(c) 48.
(d) 68.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the name of the elderly woman's dog referenced in “A Woman with a Little Dog”?

2. Though Barbara is older, Smith says she is like many women in the city who do not get old in what “traditional” (48) way?

3. What part of herself does Smith end her collection saying has never been tested “until now” (97)?

4. What is the title of the first short essay in “Screengrabs”?

5. Who taught Smith “to have one layer of skin less than the others, and therefore to feel it all” (92)?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Smith consider might be the reasons for the sign that read “I am a self-hating Asian. Let’s talk!” (66).

2. What does Smith say in regards to how certain crimes are categorized?

3. Who is Beck from “A Woman with A Little Dog”?

4. How does Smith describe the concept of British “class contempt” (74) in “Post-script: Contempt as a Virus”?

5. Why does Smith say, despite her issues with institutions, that she is glad Cy is connected to one?

6. What are the two beauty treatments Smith will get and why?

7. What does the man with the sign say in his email to the entire university community?

8. How does Smith show that when she went to the ATM in the first story in “Screengrabs” it was early on in the pandemic?

9. How does Smith describe the way in which Barbara and other women in the city get older?

10. Which famous New Yorker did Smith read about at the start of the pandemic and reference in “A Character in a Wheelchair in the Vestibule”?

(see the answer keys)

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