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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why is Lyle sad all of the time?
(a) He is homesick and hates New York.
(b) His boyfriend has moved to London.
(c) He is heavily in debt.
(d) He and his boyfriend have broken up.

2. How are Nathaniel and Lucien related?
(a) Nathaniel is Lucien's brother's son.
(b) Nathaniel is Lucian's son-in-law.
(c) Nathaniel is Lucien's nephew by marriage.
(d) Nathaniel is Lucian's cousin's son.

3. Which of the possible consequences of a global computer failure that Nathaniel mentions could be considered foreshadowing?
(a) The idea that widespread food shortages might occur.
(b) The idea that people might be trapped in high-rise elevators.
(c) The idea that hospitals might not be able to monitor patients.
(d) The idea that airplanes might lose their guidance systems and crash.

4. What does Isaac do for a living?
(a) He owns a deli.
(b) He makes vacuum cleaners.
(c) He is a rabbi.
(d) He repairs cars.

5. What ridiculous detail does Nathaniel give in his description of the last months of 1999?
(a) Cults announcing that aliens would come to Earth at midnight on New Year's Eve.
(b) Businesses desperately trying to teach their staffs how to do math without computerized cash registers.
(c) Celebrity clairvoyants making wild predictions in the tabloids.
(d) Preppers sealing their families into shelters underground.

6. What is the name of Lucien's assistant?
(a) Advika.
(b) Devahuti.
(c) Rashana.
(d) Sharmila.

7. From the story's context, when must Charlie have died?
(a) In the year 2003.
(b) In the year 2000.
(c) Before the year 2000.
(d) Shortly after the September 11th attack.

8. To what does Nathaniel compare the sight of Manhattan from Matsumoto's loft?
(a) The circuit board of a computer.
(b) A glass of champagne.
(c) Van Gogh's Starry Night.
(d) A miniature city from his childhood train set.

9. What does Nathaniel suggest that people might be desperate enough to burn in the wake of a global computer failure?
(a) Stacks of money.
(b) Their old issues of the New York Review.
(c) Their designer clothing and shoes.
(d) Their children's elementary school artwork.

10. Of all of the things that Nathaniel can see from Matsumoto's loft, which is most important to him?
(a) The Chrysler Building.
(b) The Empire State Building.
(c) The Statue of Liberty.
(d) The World Trade Center.

11. After Charlie became ill, what did Lucien feel was happening to the world?
(a) It was shattering like broken glass.
(b) It was all turning into paper.
(c) It was burning down around him.
(d) It was melting away into nothing.

12. What does Nathaniel say that ceremonial occasions remind us about?
(a) That time only moves in one direction.
(b) That we should love one another.
(c) That life is unpredictable.
(d) That ideas are bigger than any one person.

13. What do Rose and Isaac ask Lucien to do when he calls Nathaniel after Nathaniel arrives in New York?
(a) Get Nathaniel a job.
(b) Tell Nathaniel to go back home.
(c) Find Nathaniel a place to live.
(d) Not tell Nathaniel that they asked Lucien to call.

14. What made tears come into Nathaniel's eyes the first time he saw Matsumoto's loft?
(a) The Jacuzzi in the bathroom.
(b) The art on the walls.
(c) The view from the terrace.
(d) The flat-screen television.

15. Where did Nathaniel live before he moved to New York?
(a) The Midwest.
(b) Minnesota.
(c) The Southwest.
(d) California.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Lucien end up saying to his assistant on page 8 when he wants to give her a piece of advice?

2. What is Nathaniel's job in the narrative present?

3. When Lucien is in the gallery imagining that he is with Charlie, what does he promise her?

4. Which character works for Itami Systems?

5. What does Nathaniel do with his spare time that his parents find worrisome?

(see the answer keys)

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