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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

3. Which character works for Itami Systems?
(a) Madison.
(b) Lucien.
(c) Matsumoto.
(d) Lyle.

4. When Lucien is in the gallery imagining that he is with Charlie, what does he promise her?
(a) He will find another woman to love and be happy again.
(b) He will try to think more kindly about Rose and Isaac.
(c) He will find another apartment for Nathaniel.
(d) He will put more energy into the gallery.

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

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

7. Besides their minimal rent, what task are Nathaniel and his roommates performing in exchange for a place to live?
(a) They take care of Matsumoto's cats.
(b) They sort through and forward Matsumoto's mail.
(c) They collect the rent from Matsumoto's other tenants.
(d) They are repainting the loft.

8. What does Lucien end up saying to his assistant on page 8 when he wants to give her a piece of advice?
(a) "Don't believe everything you hear."
(b) "Don't feel sad."
(c) "Don't worry."
(d) "Don't bother about the phones."

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

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

11. What is Nathaniel's job in the narrative present?
(a) He works as a building manager for Matsumoto.
(b) He works on the floor of the New York Stock exchange.
(c) He is a bartender at a bar near Matsumoto's loft.
(d) He works in the New York subway's architecture department.

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

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

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

15. 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.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where did Nathaniel meet Madison, Amity, and Lyle?

2. What does Nathaniel say history teaches us?

3. To whom does Nathaniel imagine telling the story of the Y2K computer issue?

4. What is Russell's business relationship to Amity?

5. Where did Nathaniel live before he moved to New York?

(see the answer keys)

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