Pop Quiz: Comprehension, Brain Food

by Jen Schneider


I knew the intersection well. Marked daily by the corner where a gentleman - about forty - sat. Soiled khakis. Frayed knees. Broad back against the narrow streetlight pole. Also soiled. Heavy down jackets a top a mix of flannels and T’s. A cardboard sign, handwritten, perched on angled legs. Stacks of dogeared paperbacks. A small pail and a pair of brown leather loafers. 


Question 1.

Does forty refer to an age or a quantity?


Question 2. 

Which of the belongings are least like the others?

      A. Down jackets
      B. Flannels
      C. Cardboard Sign
      D. Paperbacks


Question 3.

The sign included one question and one statement. What do they say? 


Question 4.

One word on the sign reads as follows: “ANYTHNG”

Is the missing “I” intentional?


Question 5.

The corner’s streetlights were set to 30-second timers. Why?


Question 6.

Which of the following is proper etiquette on the part of passersby?

      A. Toss coins
      B. Fold bills into paper airlines. Attempt flight.
      C. Nod
      D. Nothing


Question 7.

Define Etiquette.


Question 8.

A passerby feels regret for not stopping at the corner.

Define Regret.


Question 9.

Which of the following words is least like the others?

      A. Regret
      B. Forget
      C. Budget
      D. Target


Question 10.

Which of the following words most likely describes the gentleman?

      A. Regret
      B. Forget
      C. Budget
      D. Target


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"Pop Quiz: Comprehension, Brain Food" was first published by The Utopia Project (https://utoprozine.com/terms-and-conditions/)

Jen Schneider is an educator, attorney, and writer. She lives, writes, and works in small spaces throughout Philadelphia. Recent work appears in The Popular Culture Studies Journal, Toho Journal, The New Verse News, Zingara Poetry Review, Streetlight Magazine, Chaleur Magazine, LSE Review of Books, and other literary and scholarly journals.