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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does "Shahr-e-Zohak" translate to in English?
(a) The Red City.
(b) The Blue City.
(c) The Green City.
(d) The White City.

2. Where does Nana say that Jalil was horseback riding with friends when she gave birth to Mariam?
(a) Gul Daman.
(b) Shindand.
(c) Takht-e-Safar.
(d) Lahore.

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

4. How old is Laila in 1987 when Chapter 16 begins?
(a) 18.
(b) 12.
(c) 5.
(d) 9.

5. Who is described in Chapter 23 as "the flamboyant Uzbek commander, leader of the Junbish-i-Milli faction"?
(a) Queen Gauhar Shad.
(b) Mullah Faizullah.
(c) Ahmad Shah Massoud.
(d) Abdul Rashid Dostum.

Short Answer Questions

1. What language is native to Kandahar?

2. Chapter 22 begins in January of what year?

3. Who is the ancient poet that Jalil describes buried beneath a pistachio tree in Herat in Chapter 1?

4. What kind of hat does Tariq wear as they watch the last Soviet convoys leave the city in Chapter 22?

5. In what year does Chapter 12 begin?

Short Essay Questions

1. What literary allusion does the author employ in Chapter 21? How does this allusion relate metaphorically to A Thousand Splendid Suns?

2. What are Laila's perceptions of the funeral in Chapter 19? How does Laila grieve?

3. What political events are described by the narrator in Chapter 15? How do these events affect the citizens of Afghanistan?

4. Chapter 6 is a transitional chapter in A Thousand Splendid Suns. What purpose does this transition serve?

5. What does Hakim reveal to Laila when they are alone at the top of the statues in Chapter 21?

6. What news does Tariq relate to Laila in Chapter 25? How does Laila respond?

7. How would you describe Mariam's relationship with each of her parents in Chapter 1?

8. What political even does Laila's family witness in Chapter 22? What do they make of this affair?

9. How have Mariam's circumstances changed by the end of Chapter 5? What has caused Mariam's circumstances to change?

10. How are Laila's circumstances shown to be different than Mariam's circumstances in Chapter 16?

(see the answer keys)

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