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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why are rams' horns being blown all around the city?
(a) It is Sukkot.
(b) It is Yom Kippur.
(c) It is Hanukkah.
(d) It is Rosh Hashanah.

2. In the story's opening sentence, what is implied about the main character's writing?
(a) More than one of her stories is uninteresting.
(b) Her readers are gradually deserting her.
(c) She is losing interest in her career.
(d) She does not deserve the praise she has gotten.

3. What denomination is the last church that the woman visits?
(a) Baptist.
(b) Methodist.
(c) Episcopalian.
(d) Congregationalist.

4. Why does the main character find that the story she is working on is not an easy one to write?
(a) It is about fear.
(b) It is about death.
(c) It is about religion.
(d) It is about friendship.

5. What detail does the story give about the shape of the tape on the windows?
(a) It is shaped like the letter "x."
(b) It is shaped like crosses.
(c) It is shaped like diamonds.
(d) It is shaped like asterisks.

6. What does the landlady say the mayor gave her?
(a) Carpet.
(b) A stove.
(c) Flowers.
(d) An award.

7. For the majority of the story, what tone does the narrator adopt?
(a) Melancholic.
(b) Amused.
(c) Objective.
(d) Dismissive.

8. Why was the woman reading the Bible during the period she writes about in her story?
(a) Because she wanted to know exactly what it said.
(b) Because it was the High Holy Days.
(c) Because she needed comfort during the hurricane.
(d) Because she wanted to use Biblical allusions in her writing.

9. The man tells the woman that he has committed "blasphemy" (20). What has he done?
(a) Told a harmful lie about someone.
(b) Shown disrespect to God.
(c) Cursed God's name.
(d) Contemplated suicide.

10. For what reason, besides that "there may not be enough to tell about him," does the woman think that the man might not be the right "center" for her story (20)?
(a) She is unclear about how she feels about the man.
(b) There is no real resolution to his story.
(c) The man will be angry that she wrote about him.
(d) This might not be the right time to tell his story.

11. What is it logical to infer about the church women who are wearing red?
(a) They are collecting the offering.
(b) They are worship leaders.
(c) They are ushers.
(d) They are the choir.

12. Why does the man in the story feel so ill?
(a) He has food poisoning.
(b) He has cancer.
(c) He is having a heart attack.
(d) He has the flu.

13. What technique is used in the sentence: "The story is flat and even, just as the earth seems flat and even when a hurricane is advancing over it" (19)?
(a) Allegory.
(b) Allusion.
(c) Simile.
(d) Personification.

14. What can be inferred about the woman from the description of the women who try to get her to sit down at their church?
(a) She is not Black.
(b) She is White.
(c) She is not a Christian.
(d) She is Jewish.

15. What does the narrator say "usually promises to be interesting" (19)?
(a) A flood.
(b) A hurricane.
(c) A religious crisis.
(d) A death.

Short Answer Questions

1. What detail in the description of the man's bedroom indicates how close the hurricane is getting?

2. Where is the woman's landlady from?

3. What specific Biblical story does the writer focus on?

4. What color is the light in the man's bedroom?

5. Who is the author of "The Center of the Story"?

(see the answer keys)

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