Question 2: My interlocutors are invariably surprised, if not shocked, when I tell them that I read James, Eliot, Plath and great Persian poets like Rumi and Hafez.

What is the meaning of "interlocutors" as used at the beginning of the passage?

Group of answer choices

Iranian Students

Close Friends

Conversational Partners

International Journalists

Question 3
Why is the setting of this passage significant to its meaning?
Group of answer choices

The setting does not impact the meaning; the meaning could be the same no matter the setting

The setting reinforces the author's educational background and thus his passion for literature

The setting suggests that the teacher might not be teaching students appropriate information for what they will need to be successful in life

The setting reiterates the speaker's conviction that literature can be a powerful tool for survival in the worst circumstances

Question 4
What is the main idea of this passage?
Group of answer choices

Literature becomes superfluous in the face of war and violence.

The author’s students in Tehran were remarkably eager to learn.

Literature provides empty but nonetheless welcome escapist entertainment during times of war.

War and repression highlight and promote people’s need for the arts.

Question 5
I keep returning to the words of Leon Staff, a Polish poet who lived in the Warsaw ghetto: “Even more than bread we now need poetry, in a time when it seems that it is not needed at all.”

What does the quote from Leon Staff represent?

Group of answer choices

Paradox: saying that people need poetry when they are dying from starvation seems to be an absurd and contradictory statement, yet the author believes it to be true

Metaphor: a comparison is made between bread and poetry asserting that poetry is just as necessary for life as bread

Coincidence: the author is connecting his situation to those of the people in WWII

Exaggeration: the author is overstating the importance of poetry by connecting it to the importance of food

Question 6
What does Nafisi say is his motivation for teaching classic texts in the middle of a war?
Group of answer choices

To earn a living during difficult times

To distract his students from important issues

To inspire his students

To enhance his own understanding of the origins of violence.

Question 7
Which of the following assertions is supported by this passage?
Group of answer choices

Iranian women desire greater freedom.

Prejudice against other cultures is unwarranted.

The writer’s students were unconcerned with current events.

Great literature has the capacity to liberate the human spirit.