[Oracle interview]Can a top level class be private or protected?

No. A top  level class can not be private or protected. It can have either  "public" or no modifier. If it does not have a modifier it is  supposed to have a default access.If a top level class is declared as private  the compiler will complain that the "modifier private is not allowed  here". This means that a top level class can not be private. Same is the  case with protected.