By JANE LOTTER

Whew! A lot's been going on in the year 2001 and it's only February. Are you keeping up on the local news? If not, don't worry. You're probably much more savvy about recent happenings than you realize! To prove it, try taking this test on Seattle current events:

1. Shortly after the New Year, a 350-pound monolith mysteriously appeared, disappeared, and then reappeared several times around Seattle. It was ...

a) A Dada-inspired art installation.

b) A homage to the movie "2001."

c) Mayor Schell.

2. Workers at the Seattle Times and Seattle P-I went on strike and vigorously demanded ... a) Better working conditions.

b) Increased pay.

c) A name change for "Dilly Dally Alley."

3. Shares in Amazon.com surprised everyone recently by trading at ...

a) New lows.

b) Below book value.

c) Value Village.

4. Despite opposition by big business, hundreds of North End residents continue working tirelessly to daylight ...

a) Thornton Creek.

b) The entire Thornton Creek watershed.

c) Target.

5. Bonus Biology Question: In an effort to protect chinook salmon (which, by the way, run in Thornton Creek) the United States government has declared them ...

a) threatened.

b) endangered.

c) part of the Federal Witness Protection Program.

6. Complete the following sentence. Light rail will almost certainly come to my neighborhood after ...

a) 10 years.

b) 20 years.

c) I'm dead.

7. A new baby elephant was born at the Woodland Park Zoo. Zoo officials say the baby elephant has brought an astonishing increase in ...

a) attendance.

b) news coverage.

c) Zoo Doo.

8. Each year, the Seattle Public Library sponsors a program called "If All of Seattle Read the Same Book." This year, the book everybody's reading is ...

a) "Fooling with Words: A Celebration of Poets and Their Craft."

b) "War and Peace."

c) "Thin Thighs in Thirty Days."

9. Alex Rodriguez left the Seattle Mariners because he got offered ...

a) A juicy sum of money.

b) A mouth-watering amount of money.

c) More money than he can eat.

10. Bonus History Question: Century 21 is ...

a) A real estate company.

b) The official name of the 1962 Seattle World's Fair.

c) Here at last. And it's not so bad - is it?

The author is a Maple Leaf resident and lives near the Northgate Transit Center.