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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. On what does the author blame most of the things that have gone wrong in his life?
(a) Fear.
(b) The death of his mother.
(c) Apartheid.
(d) Second-hand cars.

2. How did the author respond when another boy claimed that Fufi was his dog?
(a) He negotiated shared custody of the dog.
(b) He pretended to let the boy keep Fufi, then kidnapped her under cover of night.
(c) He cussed the kid out.
(d) He allowed the boy to keep Fufi full-time.

3. Why did people in Soweto use the author as a landmark for giving directions when he was young?
(a) He was the only light-skinned person in the area.
(b) He was famous for his work on The Daily Show.
(c) His house had an unusual shape.
(d) He was always singing very loudly so you could always tell where he was.

4. Why does the author think Santa Claus is unpopular in Africa?
(a) Belief in Santa is seen as a form of idolatry.
(b) Christianity is unpopular in Africa.
(c) Christmas in Africa does not include gift giving.
(d) African parents do not want to give a fat white man credit for their gifts.

5. Why did Robert's steakhouse close?
(a) Robert ran out of money.
(b) The government insisted that he needed to have separate toilets for every racial category.
(c) Robert closed it after changing his mind about apartheid.
(d) They received a health code violation.

6. Why was the author surprised when Patricia insisted that he go see his father?
(a) The author thought his father was dead.
(b) The author and his father had not spoken in ten years and the author assumed they would never speak again.
(c) The author did not know who his father was.
(d) Patricia hated the author's father.

7. According to the author, how do black people treat dogs in South Africa?
(a) They treat them like children.
(b) They treat them like alarm systems.
(c) They treat them like toys.
(d) They treat them like tools.

8. What was the only part of a person's home that could not be improved in Soweto?
(a) The walls.
(b) The ceiling.
(c) The driveway.
(d) The bathroom.

9. Where did Abel go after he was forced to move out of the home of the white family he lived with?
(a) He was forced to live on the streets.
(b) He moved in with Patricia and the author.
(c) He left to make it big in America.
(d) He bought an identical house across the street.

10. What did Patricia do after discovering the fecal matter in the trashcan?
(a) She buried the fecal matter.
(b) She took the trash out to the curb.
(c) She punished Trevor for making a mess.
(d) She called people over to pray to rid their house of demons.

11. How did the author respond when he found out that he could not take communion because he was not Catholic?
(a) He called the owners of the school racist.
(b) He apologized for the misunderstanding.
(c) He asked if Jesus, being Jewish, would also be denied the right of communion.
(d) He converted to Catholicism.

12. What answer did Patricia give when the author asked her why she chose to give birth to him?
(a) She had him out of love for his father.
(b) She had him by accident.
(c) She had him to spite the apartheid regime.
(d) She wanted someone that would love her whom she could love in return.

13. Why was the author unable to play with his cousins when he was very young?
(a) His grandmother was afraid the police would take him away.
(b) His grandmother was afraid the neighborhood children would steal him.
(c) Trevor was being punished.
(d) His grandmother was afraid the cousins would be a bad influence on Trevor.

14. Why does the author compare Patricia to a "guerilla fighter" (84)?
(a) She was extremely proficient with improvised explosives.
(b) She was too slow to catch him for a whooping so she had to get her attacks in on the fly.
(c) She disliked the great apes and, growing up, the author did not know the difference between a "guerilla fighter" and a "gorilla fighter."
(d) She fought for what she believed in.

15. What made the author "realize [he] was black" (59)?
(a) Going to an elite private school where students were socially integrated.
(b) Seeing his mother write "black" on a government census.
(c) Going to H. A. Jack Primary.
(d) Failing to get along with his white father.

Short Answer Questions

1. When does the author believe that a person is most themselves, according to the story "Pray, Trevor"?

2. Which of the following is NOT a language that Patricia taught to the author?

3. Why was the author unable to call his father "dad" growing up?

4. In the foreword to the story "Fufi," how does the author explain his observation that most black people in Africa dislike cats?

5. Why does the author say he never felt poor when living alone with Patricia?

(see the answer keys)

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