from Blindness

1. In the selection from Blindness, what has happened to the man?

• a. He has been tricked into believing that he has gone blind
• b. He has fooled everyone into thinking that he is blind.
• c. He has become blind as a result of a car accident.
• d. He has become blind for no apparent reason.

2. In the selection from Blindness, how does the man respond to help from the good Samaritan? Choose three options.

• b. He is panicked that he is in the street as the good Samaritan parks his car

• c. He is suspicious that the good Samaritan wants to harm and rob him.

• g. He is grateful that the good Samaritan has helped him

• a. He is annoyed that the good Samaritan won’t help him find his key.

• d. He is happy that he has made a new friend in the good Samaritan.

3. In the selection from Blindness, why must the couple take a cab to the doctor’s office?

• a. Neither of them is able to drive.
• b. Their car is nowhere to be found
• c. The woman has lost the car keys.
• d. The man won’t get back in the car.

4. . In the selection from Blindness, how does the doctor respond to the man’s blindness?

• a. He is perplexed because he can find no cause and has never seen a case like it.
• b. He is suspicious of the man because his blindness has no medical explanation.
• c. He is extremely concerned because he thinks that the man has a brain tumor.
• d. He is neutral because he thinks that the man has a simple eye condition that can be treated.

5. The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B.

Part A: What is the most likely meaning of vexation as it is used in this passage from Blindness? Base your answer on context.

• a. expression of concern or pity

• b. state of being annoyed or angry

• c. sense of embarrassment or self-doubt

• d. concealment of true feelings or thoughts

Part B: Which words from the excerpt are a context clue that most clearly supports the answer to Part A?

• a. set about gathering up

• b. with an irritation

• c. made no attempt to disguise

• d. gone in an instant

6. What is the most likely meaning of distraught as it is used in this excerpt from Blindness? Choose the meaning based on context clues in the excerpt.

• a. drained or incapable of emotion
• b. agitated with mental conflict
• c. hiding an important truth
• d. unable to show feelings

7. What is the most likely meaning of impenetrable as it is used in this passage from Blindness? Choose the meaning based on context clues in the passage.

• a. not possible to touch or sense
• b. not possible to build or recreate
• c. not possible to pass or see through
• d. not possible to imagine or dream about

8. The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B.

Part A: In the selection from Blindness, which of the following best explains why the wife becomes impatient with her husband when she returns home?

• a. She was expecting their apartment to be empty.

• b. She thinks that he has slept through a robbery.

• c. She believes that he is playing a cruel trick.

• d. She mistakes him for an angry intruder.

Part B: Which passage from the selection most clearly supports the answer to Part A?

• a. What are you doing there, sleeping with those flowers on your lap, his wife was asking him.

• b. Then he wanted with all his strength to see his wife kneeling at his feet, right there, where he knew she was, . . . .

• c. Stop playing silly games, there are certain things we must not joke about, How I wish it were a joke, the truth is that I really am blind . . . .

• d. Please, don't frighten me, look at me, here, I'm here, the light is on . . . .