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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Using the method of time measurement that Arn and the other captives must use, eight harvests means he's been held captive for how long?
(a) 3 years.
(b) 5 years.
(c) 1 1/2 years.
(d) 2 1/2 years.

2. What happens the first time Arn shoots his gun?
(a) He has a violent flashback of the boy in his village being hit with the butt of a rifle and killed.
(b) He is knocked off his feet by the force of the shot.
(c) He accidentally shoots Kha, but it is only a superficial wound.
(d) He shoots a Vietnamese soldier hiding among the trees.

3. After Arn becomes a sort of personal assistant to the leader with the white shorts, what privilege is he granted?
(a) He gets to go in the leader's room to sleep on a soft feather pillow on the floor.
(b) He gets to ride the leader's white horse.
(c) He gets to sleep in late and eat a breakfast of rice cakes.
(d) He gets to run as fast as he wants, a practice normally forbidden so that escapes may be detected.

4. 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 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.
(b) 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.
(c) 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.
(d) 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.

5. What happens to cause Arn to say that now "even the earth is our enemy" (126)?
(a) When they bury their dead, the earth expels their bloated bodies.
(b) Vietnamese soldiers leap out of a ditch to attack their group.
(c) Their rice girl steps on a land mine and loses her leg.
(d) The vegetables they plant won't grow.

6. 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) "Come for us soon."
(b) "Why didn't you save us."
(c) "Peace be with you."
(d) "See you again."

7. When Sombo takes Arn away from the group, his parting from Kha and Siv is especially hard. What about the separation makes it particularly tough for Arn?
(a) Sombo takes him away without warning, so he does not get to say goodbye to Kha and Siv, who are now like brothers to him.
(b) He has planned to learn how to play the xylophone from Kha and how to play soccer from Siv, but now it's too late.
(c) He has grown over time to hate Sombo, so Kha and Siv are the only friends he has left.
(d) He has planned to give Kha and Siv his only blanket, but Sombo takes him away before he can do so.

8. The American man whom Arn at first calls Jesus Monk, later finding out his name is Mr. Pond, takes pity on Arn and gives him medicine to cure what ailment?
(a) Malaria.
(b) Dysentery.
(c) Worms.
(d) Yellow Fever.

9. What event causes Arn to question whether Sombo is still his friend or not?
(a) Arn overhears Sombo telling another soldier how annoying he finds Arn's behavior.
(b) Arn sees Sombo strike Siv in the face for being clumsy.
(c) Sombo swears at him and spits on the ground when Sombo asks to go wherever Sombo is being taken by the high-ranking soldier.
(d) Sombo refuses to share his extra rice with Arn.

10. Arn knows there are wild animals in the jungle that may eat him, so he climbs a tree to sleep. What animal does he suspect has spent the night under his tree when he sees the grass lying down?
(a) A tiger.
(b) A hippopotamus.
(c) A leopard.
(d) A rhinoceros.

11. 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.

12. Once Sombo's group dwindles to a number of only seven kids, plus Sombo and Koong, they become so tired that they drop most of what they have been carrying. What are the two things they continue to carry?
(a) Extra socks and underwear.
(b) Guns and bullets.
(c) Cooking pots and kindling.
(d) Water and food.

13. 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.

14. What creatures does the author depict fleeing from the sounds of war in order to underscore the theme of the unnatural?
(a) Monkeys.
(b) Lizards.
(c) Birds.
(d) Spiders.

15. When the Little Fish receive automatic rifles, a tragedy happens. What is it?
(a) One of the boys from the dance group shoots Sombo accidentally.
(b) One of the boys from the dance group shoots himself accidentally.
(c) Arn shoots another boy from the dance group accidentally.
(d) Sombo leaves the group in disgust, saying the kids are being made to commit suicide.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the news being reported on the radio when Sombo quickly turns it off to prevent Arn from hearing?

2. When Arn has fallen so ill that he's afraid he will die, an American man comes to the hospital. What does Arn do in order to get the man's attention?

3. What happens the first time Arn and and another Little Fish go to drop grenades into the tanks of the Vietnamese soldiers?

4. One time when Sombo's group passes another platoon in the woods, he recognizes that platoon's rice girl. Who is it?

5. What is the name of the only other boy at the Children's Center who was formerly a child soldier besides Arn?

(see the answer keys)

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