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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. On what date was Mir Akbar Khyber assassinated?
(a) July 12, 1975.
(b) March 12, 1968.
(c) April 17, 1978.
(d) August 10, 1982.

2. What is the name of Laila's progressive but strict schoolteacher in Chapter 16?
(a) Shanzai.
(b) Jami.
(c) Muhsin.
(d) Ahmad.

3. In what year does Chapter 12 begin?
(a) 1979.
(b) 1963.
(c) 1982.
(d) 1974.

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

5. Where is Hasina taken by her family to marry a cousin who owns an auto shop in Chapter 23?
(a) Lahore.
(b) Gul Daman.
(c) Ghazni.
(d) Panjshir.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the name of the park that Rasheed takes Mariam to visit on their tour of Kabul in Chapter 11?

2. How many children does Jalil have in Chapter 1?

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

4. What Moghul emperor asked to be buried in Kabul, according to Jalil in Chapter 8?

5. For how many years did King Zahir Shah's reign last in Afghanistan?

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. When does Chapter 24 take place? What are the circumstances around Laila's family at this time?

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

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

5. How has Mariam's relationship with Rasheed evolved in Chapter 14? What has led to these changes?

6. How has Mariam adjusted to married life by the beginning of Chapter 11?

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

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

9. When does Chapter 21 take place? What is the political atmosphere like in Afghanistan at this time?

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

(see the answer keys)

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