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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. When did the author decide to reveal his crush on Zaheera?
(a) Over the winter holiday.
(b) At the matric dance.
(c) During a telephone call.
(d) While Zaheera was driving to the airport.

2. What is a "cheese boy" in the vernacular of Alexandra, South Africa?
(a) A dairy farmer.
(b) A derogatory term for white people.
(c) A mascot for a beloved macaroni and cheese restaurant.
(d) Someone wealthy enough to afford cheese.

3. What crime did the author and Teddy get caught committing?
(a) Robbing an elderly person at gunpoint.
(b) Stealing chocolates from a store.
(c) Assaulting a stranger.
(d) Doing drugs.

4. What did the police officer want when he arrested the author and his friends at the end of the story "The Cheese Boys"?
(a) He wanted a bribe.
(b) He wanted a mix CD.
(c) He wanted some cheese.
(d) He wanted to see justice served.

5. Why did students come out of the dance to look at Babiki?
(a) They had heard that she was deformed.
(b) They had heard that she looked just like Trinity from the Matrix.
(c) They had heard that she was beautiful.
(d) They had heard that she was hurt.

Short Answer Questions

1. What were Model C Schools?

2. What was the racial composition of Highlands North?

3. What does the author suspect of his friend from Alexandra who lost his retail job?

4. Why were students willing to pay the author to buy food for them?

5. How did Patricia react after the author explained what happened to him under the mulberry tree?

Short Essay Questions

1. How multilingual is South Africa?

2. Why was the author late to the dance?

3. What conclusion did the author draw after his encounter with the police at the end of the story "The Cheese Boys"?

4. What geographical explanation does the author give when he states that "it's physically impossible for [Alexandra] to change" (201)?

5. Why did Patricia encourage the author to hang out with his cousin at the university?

6. How does the author describe the relationship between regular people and criminals in Alexandra?

7. What did the author realize when Abel beat up the ringleader from the incident under the mulberry tree?

8. How did the author get through to his cellmate whom he initially compared to the Hulk?

9. What niche did the author find at Sandingham high school during lunch time?

10. What happened to the Khoisan tribe after Europeans colonized South Africa?

(see the answer keys)

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