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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. Who is the narrator?
(a) Terri.
(b) Nick.
(c) Laura.
(d) Mel.

2. What reason does the character give for asking for something to eat before dinner?
(a) She/he wants to give the hostess something to do.
(b) She/he is drunk and needs to sober up.
(c) She/he is very hungry.
(d) She/he is getting bored.

3. What is the old couple's condition after the accident?
(a) They are not injured other than scrapes and bruises.
(b) Their individual blood pressure readings skyrocket simultaneously.
(c) They have multiple injuries.
(d) They are incredibly angry at the hospital and doctors.

4. Why does Mel's wife want this to happen to his ex-wife?
(a) Because she is possessive of Mel.
(b) Because she wants to have a place to stay when she and Mel go overseas.
(c) Because she is draining Mel financially and emotionally.
(d) Because she enjoys Mel's ex-wife's company.

5. What time of day does the story take place?
(a) Late afternoon.
(b) Late night.
(c) Mid-morning.
(d) Noon.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where are additional beverages kept?

2. Who does Mel say he would go after if his wife died?

3. What can the narrator hear near the end of the story?

4. What is Mel's ex-wife allergic to?

5. Who notes that the characters "are all from someplace else"?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is Mel's discussion of love similar to his profession?

2. What does the narrator hear at the end of the story, and why is this important?

3. Describe Mel's relationship with his ex-wife.

4. What does Mel tell Laura he would do if anything happened to their spouses? Why?

5. Why does Laura bump Nick's knee under the table?

6. What two professions does Mel say he would have liked to have had and why?

7. How many views of the situation does the author give the reader? Do you think this is helpful or not? Why?

8. Describe the interaction between Mel and Terri surrounding Mel's ex-wife.

9. Describe the relationship between Laura and Nick.

10. What was the prognosis for the old couple over the course of their hospitalization?

(see the answer keys)

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