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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. Who does the narrator have quasi-romantic interludes with while traveling to Victoria Falls?
(a) Nelson.
(b) William.
(c) Giles.
(d) Alexander.

2. How is the narrator told to survive the desert?
(a) Focus on the horizon.
(b) Get past the feeling it is an organism demanding surrender.
(c) Be prepared with a compass and plenty of water.
(d) Consider the desert a living organism that must be conquered.

3. Who is having the party where the narrator may meet Nelson Denoon?
(a) A wealthy American philanthropist.
(b) A powerful white politician.
(c) An American diplomat.
(d) A powerful black politician.

4. After the narrator has been in Tsau a couple of days, who tells her the village has no room for one more and she must leave as soon as possible?
(a) No one told her this.
(b) Mma Isang.
(c) Dineo.
(d) Isang Mma.

5. What does the narrator study in the African bush as a part of her thesis?
(a) Seasonal nutritional availability and its effect on the local death rate.
(b) Seasonal nutritional availability and its effect on infant mortality.
(c) Seasonal nutritional availability and its effect on fertility.
(d) None of these.

Short Answer Questions

1. What do the villagers of Tsau do at night?

2. How is Grace Denoon described by the narrator when she runs into Grace?

3. What about Nelson Denoon fascinates the narrator?

4. Who does the narrator learn about a party from where she may meet Nelson Denoon?

5. What color is Nelson Denoon's hair?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens between the narrator and Nelson Denoon when she first finds the place he is staying?

2. Nelson leaves Tsau on retreat for four days. Why doesn't he tell the narrator why or where he is going? How does the narrator react?

3. The narrator begins to have very strange experiences in the desert. What are they, and how does she overcome it?

4. There are disagreements as to whether or not Nelson and the narrator should be a couple. Describe the feelings on this subject in the village.

5. What secret does the narrator learn from "Z"?

6. Grace Denoon and the narrator have lunch together after the narrator bumps into Grace while shopping for supplies. What do they discuss? What does this conversation represent?

7. What does the narrator notice as she approaches Tsau? What memories does it evoke?

8. Why does the narrator have such difficulty finding the place where Nelson Denoon is rumored to be staying?

9. What does the reader learn about the narrator in Chapter 1? What characteristics does she display?

10. What does the sandstorm at the end of the American diplomat's party represent?

(see the answer keys)

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