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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 kind of drink did the unnamed narrator order when she sat down at the hotel bar?
(a) A gin martini.
(b) A mojito.
(c) A gimlet.
(d) An old-fashioned.

2. The unnamed narrator describes Fran's speech as being like a what?
(a) A slap.
(b) A punch.
(c) A kick.
(d) A kiss.

3. In which season did the unnamed narrator have a discussion with the lawyer who claimed to have abandoned her child?
(a) Winter.
(b) Fall.
(c) Spring.
(d) Summer.

4. During the unnamed narrator's adolescence, what is NOT mentioned as an object she and other young women were urged to carry?
(a) A set of keys.
(b) A can of pepper spray.
(c) A whistle.
(d) A knife.

5. Who suggested the prospect of a game at the gathering featured in Fresno, 2014?
(a) Fran.
(b) Sandra.
(c) The unnamed narrator.
(d) Dominique.

Short Answer Questions

1. What two things does the unnamed narrator state that she has always wanted?

2. What is NOT one of the feelings the unnamed narrator had toward John after she confessed to her infidelity?

3. At which location had Dominique first met Fran, according to the unnamed narrator?

4. What activity did the unnamed narrator once rely upon in order to calm her nerves?

5. Which upcoming event produced in the unnamed narrator feelings of satisfaction mixed with fear?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the unnamed narrator answer her own question about why people confide in her?

2. In what way does Popkey purposely mislead the reader at the start of the section called San Francisco, 2012?

3. In what way does Popkey suggest that the reader unpack their own reactions to the life events of the woman in Santa Barbara?

4. What method did the unnamed narrator eventually use to end her marriage and why?

5. What did the unnamed narrator do for a living during her marriage to John?

6. When the identity of the father of the unnamed narrator's child is finally revealed, who is it?

7. How does the unnamed narrator describe the fertility problems she and John experienced during their marriage?

8. What tactics did the unnamed narrator use to help herself summon enthusiasm about pursuing a pregnancy with John?

9. Describe the difference between the unnamed narrator's view of therapy in 2014 and her current view.

10. Discuss the stream-of-consciousness style in which Topics of Conversation is written.

(see the answer keys)

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