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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What simile does Arn use to describe his sister's appearance when he sees her?
(a) Like a whisper of air.
(b) Like a tiny old woman.
(c) Like a tired mother.
(d) Like an overworked horse.

2. What does the hospital look like where Arn arrives when he gets off the bus?
(a) It is a tent with open sides.
(b) It is a mud hut with a thatched roof.
(c) It is a big stucco building with lots of windows.
(d) It is a brick building that looks like a prison.

3. The author uses the occasion of Arn's transition into the role of soldier to refer back to events at the start of the novel. What are those events and what triggers them in Arn's thoughts?
(a) He remembers a prayer and recites it out loud, causing him to think about the monk teacher whom he used to bribe so he could skip school to sell his wares.
(b) He straps a gun and ammunition to his chest and it reminds him of playing soldiers with his little brother Munny, just as they did after the movie so long ago.
(c) He looks up into the sky and hears the rat-a-tat-tat of artillery, which makes him think of the sound his cheap vendor bell used to make as he sold from his cart.
(d) He feels a sense of power from being armed and likens it to the feeling he used to get from earning his own money and having the power to buy things other kids couldn't.

4. Why does Sombo leave Arn and the other boys to fend for themselves?
(a) He leaves because he is fed up with taking care of so many boys.
(b) He leaves because he is mad at Arn for Arn's reaction after he murders the villagers.
(c) He leaves because Koong is sick with a fever and he wants to take him to a Thai hospital.
(d) He leaves because he knows that if there is one fewer mouth to feed, the boys will be more likely to survive.

5. When Arn becomes delirious with hunger, he sees the monkey family and then his own family and they chant words to him over and over. What are those words he hears them chant?
(a) "See you again."
(b) "Come for us soon."
(c) "Why didn't you save us."
(d) "Peace be with you."

6. What is Arn's reaction to seeing his sister again?
(a) It makes him hate Sombo.
(b) It restores in him the will to live.
(c) It causes him to want to run away.
(d) It creates in him an inability to kill.

7. When he is mistaken for a member of the Khmer Rouge by one of their leaders, what is Arn's reaction?
(a) He vows to get even with this leader someday.
(b) He sits down on the grass and cries.
(c) He considers running away from camp.
(d) He yells at the leader, telling him that he is a captive.

8. When the Vietnamese soldiers kill everyone in the village by drawing them out with offers of free rice, why does Arn look at each dead person's face as he walks through the village?
(a) He doesn't know why he wants to look at their faces, but he does.
(b) He wants to see what expressions they had on their faces when they died.
(c) He is looking for any member of his family.
(d) He wants to count how many males they killed versus how many males they killed.

9. What new job does the child leader give the Little Fish so that they can prove their loyalty to Angka?
(a) They must fetch the water for every soldier in the camp for one week without drinking any of it themselves.
(b) They must climb onto the tanks of the Vietnamese army and drop grenades inside.
(c) They must cook all of the food for every soldier in the camp for one week without eating anything themselves.
(d) They must leap from the trenches they have dug and draw enemy fire.

10. The leader with the white shorts orders Arn to come entertain his guests at a party he is throwing at his house. For how many days does the party last?
(a) 7 days.
(b) 5 days.
(c) 2 days.
(d) 3 days.

11. One time when Sombo's group passes another platoon in the woods, he recognizes that platoon's rice girl. Who is it?
(a) His older sister Maly.
(b) His older sister Jorami.
(c) His little sister Sophea.
(d) His older sister Chantou.

12. After the first battle when the Little Fish are used by the adult soldiers as bait for the Vietnamese, how many of the original number of boys are left?
(a) 6.
(b) 8.
(c) 3.
(d) 5.

13. What special food does Arn steal from the leader's house party so that he can share it with Siv and Kha when he returns to camp?
(a) Banyan fruit.
(b) Cheese.
(c) Marshmallow.
(d) Sweet potato.

14. Mr. Pond's question to Arn about which two boys are his favorite elicits a response naming Sojeat and Ravi, even though Arn admits to the reader that his actual favorite boy is Runty. Why does he not list Runty among the names he tells Mr. Pond?
(a) Because Runty is scared all the time and is not good at volleyball.
(b) Because earlier that day Runty told Missus Gotobed that Arn had said a bad word.
(c) Because Runty does not like Mr. Pond.
(d) Because Arn suspects they are going to do something dangerous and he does not want Runty to get hurt.

15. What is the news being reported on the radio when Sombo quickly turns it off to prevent Arn from hearing?
(a) Everyone in Cambodia is fleeing to Thailand to escape the Khmer Rouge.
(b) Vietnamese soldiers are coming across the border to take over Cambodia by fighting the Khmer Rouge.
(c) The Khmer Rouge have taken over every major city and every small village in Cambodia.
(d) The rice fields in Cambodia are full of the joyful voices of peasants working in the fields.

Short Answer Questions

1. Arn hears a voice coming through a bullhorn, telling the refugees that it's okay to come out and he waits for what he thinks is a trick to end in gunfire and moaning. Instead, he hears a different sound. What is it?

2. Though at first Arn is furious with Mr. Pond for taking chances that lead to him being shot by a Thai guard, Mr. Pond then reveals news that makes Arn ecstatic. What is that news?

3. Why does Arn save most of the candy Mr. Pond gives him in order to give it to Sojeat and Ravi?

4. When Missus Gotobed warns the children that the refugee camp on the other side of the fence is dangerous, why does Arn still walk back and forth along the fence one day?

5. Who nurses Arn enough to bring him back to consciousness once he reaches Thailand?

(see the answer keys)

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