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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who did the author accuse of tricking his mother into going to church the day they were threatened in the minibus?
(a) He claimed that the pastor tricked his mother.
(b) He accused the Devil.
(c) Trevor claimed that he tricked her himself.
(d) He accused God.

2. How did arguments between the author and his mother change after the author turned eight?
(a) They began to argue in writing instead of in person.
(b) Their arguments became nastier and more personal.
(c) They stopped arguing altogether.
(d) They started arguing about more mature topics.

3. What language does the author indicate was especially valued for making prayers while he was growing up in Soweto?
(a) English.
(b) Afrikaans.
(c) Swahili.
(d) Xhosa.

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

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

6. 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.

7. The children of Soweto would yell out "indoda yomlungu!" whenever they passed the author. What does this phrase mean?
(a) "The white man!"
(b) "I hate that kid!"
(c) "Hey, buddy!"
(d) "Look out!"

8. How did the author react as a child when children in the neighborhood called him white?
(a) He thought they had their colors confused.
(b) He was proud.
(c) He thought they were racists.
(d) He was worried.

9. Why does the author say he never felt poor when living alone with Patricia?
(a) Their lives were rich with experience.
(b) Everyone around them was even poorer.
(c) They had lots of money.
(d) They were just grateful that apartheid was ending.

10. Why was the author afraid to pray for God to kill the thing that left feces in his grandmother's house?
(a) He was afraid because he was not sure if he believed in God and could not stand the theological pressure.
(b) He was afraid that if his prayer was not good enough, everyone would know he was to blame.
(c) He was afraid because he was worried the demon would eat him.
(d) He was afraid because HE was the thing that left the feces in his grandmother's house and he did not want God to kill him.

11. Who threw the author from a moving vehicle when he was a young boy?
(a) His mother.
(b) His father.
(c) A policeman.
(d) A bank robber.

12. 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.

13. Why was the author unable to call his father "dad" growing up?
(a) It would reveal that his father had slept with a black woman.
(b) The author never met his father.
(c) The author had a speech impediment and could not pronounce the word "dad."
(d) His dad did not want a child cramping his style.

14. Why did Frances Noah refuse to beat the author when the author was a little boy?
(a) She thought that beating children was wrong.
(b) She did not know whether or not Trevor's mother approved of corporal punishment.
(c) She was afraid that Trevor would overpower her.
(d) She claimed she did not know how to hit a white child.

15. What does the author indicate would probably happen if a black man had sex with a white woman under the apartheid system?
(a) The police would not care at all.
(b) The white woman would probably be charged with rape.
(c) The police would probably let them off with a warning.
(d) The black man would probably be charged with rape.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where did Patricia move at age nine?

2. What happened when the author tried to show his friend how to burn his name into pieces of wood?

3. Where did Nelson Mandela and Steve Biko go to school?

4. What did Patricia do when the author kept pestering her for toffee apples?

5. According to the author, how do white people treat dogs in South Africa?

(see the answer keys)

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