1. When the trucks of Khmer Rouge soldiers first arrive, what does the radio tell the Cambodian people to do?
(a) To do nothing and say nothing when the soldiers speak to them.
(b) To learn how to use guns so that they may join the throng of soldiers.
(c) To run away as fast as they can and take nothing with them.
(d) To give the soldiers whatever they can and show that they support them.

2. Which of the following is NOT a topic of the Khmer Rouge songs the children are taught to play with their musical instruments?
(a) God's love.
(b) Sacrifice.
(c) Revolution.
(d) Rice.

3. Who is in the picture that Arn hangs on his bedroom wall at the beginning of the novel?
(a) His mother during her opera heyday.
(b) The first lady of the United States.
(c) The Prince of Cambodia's daughter.
(d) The young U.S. President's widow, Jackie Kennedy.

4. Why do Arn and his siblings live with their aunt?
(a) Because their mother was overcome with grief after their father died and said she had to leave the family.
(b) Because their mother is dead.
(c) Because their aunt is rich and can take better care of a large family than their mother can.
(d) Because after their father's death, their mother had to go far away to find work.

5. What is the stringed instrument called that Arn learns to play in the band?
(a) Harpsichord.
(b) Khim.
(c) Dulcimer.
(d) Viola.

Short Answer Questions

1. When the Khmer Rouge evacuate all of the cities in order to force everyone into agricultural work, how many days do they tell the villagers they will be gone?

2. How old is Arn when the novel's narrative first begins?

3. The morning just before the Khmer Rouge drive through the village making announcements on their bullhorns, what sounds are noticeably absent?

4. The boy who runs away from camp and escapes amidst a flurry of gunfire by the Khmer Rouge is a former boyfriend of which of Arn's siblings?

5. Where do Arn and Munny hide when they hear the sounds of a nearby battle during their make-believe game of war?

(see the answer key)

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