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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. About how many words did the World Book encyclopedia have on Armenia when Balakian tried to research his culture?
(a) 100.
(b) 500.
(c) 200.
(d) 400.

2. For what did Balakian win a trophy at the end of his first year at the private high school?
(a) Freshman athlete of the year.
(b) Most likely to succeed.
(c) Most popular freshman.
(d) English student of the year.

3. What was Peter shocked to see his grandmother doing as she read late at night?
(a) Drinking a beer.
(b) Smoking a cigar.
(c) Smoking a pipe.
(d) Drinking whiskey.

4. In what year was the Armenian empire at its height?
(a) 50 BCE.
(b) 25 BCE.
(c) 50 CE.
(d) 100 BCE.

5. In what grade was Peter during the Cuban Missile Crisis?
(a) Eighth.
(b) Fifth.
(c) Sixth.
(d) Fourth.

Short Answer Questions

1. What was Balakian's temperature when he was delirious with the measles?

2. What kind of food did Balakian's mother claim was not fresh at the French restaurant?

3. What was the name of the poet with whom Balakian started his journal?

4. In what year did Balakian's father save the man having the heart attack at a Columbia game?

5. What was the name of the poetry journal Balakian founded in 1976?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Balakian's mother's behavior at the restaurant in France reflect her cultured upbringing?

2. Why did Balakian's grandmother tell him a story from the genocide while he was delirious with fever?

3. Why did Balakian's father insist his son leave the public schools and attend a private school?

4. What did the phrase "the old country" mean to Balakian as a child?

5. How did Balakian react to seeing his father perform emergency medical care to the heart attack victim at the football game?

6. How did Balakian's father's fear of germs, as well as other family member's obsession with health and safety, reflect their experiences during the genocide?

7. What was Balakian's reaction to the folktales his grandmother would frequently tell him?

8. In what ways did life at Auntie Anna's and Uncle Steve's house differ from life in the Balakian household?

9. When the Balakian family was preparing to move to another town, what was the deeper significance of Balakian's mother's insistence that her son not get too attached to any one place?

10. How did Balakian's grandmother react to the assault against the man on the city bus?

(see the answer keys)

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