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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does the word "kolba" refer to in the novel?
(a) A hut.
(b) A horse-cart.
(c) A veil.
(d) A place of religious worship.

2. Who is the village arbab of Gul Daman that visits Mariam and her mother once a month or so during Mariam's childhood?
(a) Habib Khan.
(b) Mullah Faizullah.
(c) Ahmad Shah Massoud.
(d) Sibghatullah Mojadidi.

3. What is the Farsi speaking Tajik region northeast of Kabul that Fariba's family is from?
(a) Deh Mazang.
(b) Panjshir.
(c) Gul Daman.
(d) Takht-e-Safar.

4. When did Ahmad and Noor leave to fight the Soviets, according to the narrator in Chapter 16?
(a) 1979.
(b) 1995.
(c) 1983.
(d) 1980.

5. What type of business does Jalil own when Mariam is a child?
(a) A bookstore.
(b) A cinema.
(c) A shoe store.
(d) A butcher shop.

6. On what day of the week does Jalil come to visit Mariam during her childhood?
(a) Every Friday.
(b) Every Tuesday.
(c) Every Sunday.
(d) Every Thursday.

7. Who discovers Mariam in a pool of blood after she has miscarried in Chapter 13?
(a) Hakim.
(b) Ahmad.
(c) Laila.
(d) Fariba.

8. What kind of hat does Tariq wear as they watch the last Soviet convoys leave the city in Chapter 22?
(a) A bowler.
(b) An ushanka.
(c) A derby hat.
(d) A fedora.

9. What word in the book refers to the five daily prayers undertaken by Muslims?
(a) Serkah Pulao.
(b) Karteh Seh.
(c) Gul Daman.
(d) Namaz.

10. What does Tariq do to the boy that shot Laila with the water pistol in Chapter 18?
(a) He throws a water balloon at him.
(b) He tells the boy's mother.
(c) He shoots him with a BB gun.
(d) He beats him with his prosthetic leg.

11. Whose pictures does Fariba hold up as the last Soviet convoys exit the city in Chapter 22?
(a) Laila's and Hakim's.
(b) Mullah Faizullah's.
(c) Ahmad's and Noor's.
(d) Queen Gauhar Shad's.

12. What organization sends Tariq a new prosthetic leg in Chapter 23?
(a) The Red Cross.
(b) The Blue Cross.
(c) The Kabul Doctors United.
(d) The World Health Organization.

13. What is the name of the nearby village that Nana's father is from?
(a) Takht-e-Safar.
(b) Gul Daman.
(c) Ghazni.
(d) Shindand.

14. What is the name of Jalil's eldest son by his first wife?
(a) Sabir.
(b) Jami.
(c) Hakim.
(d) Muhsin.

15. What is the name of Fariba's husband?
(a) Muhsin.
(b) Noor.
(c) Ahmad.
(d) Hakim.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the name of Fariba's eldest son?

2. What color is Laila's hair described as in Chapter 16?

3. Where does Nana say that Jalil was horseback riding with friends when she gave birth to Mariam?

4. What is the name of Fariba's 10-year-old son that she introduces to Mariam at the tandoor line in Chapter 10?

5. In what year was Mariam born?

(see the answer keys)

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