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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. 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) 3 days.
(c) 5 days.
(d) 2 days.

2. When Arn, Kha, and Siv are allowed to go in the pond to wash, they try to sink to the bottom, partly in order to escape the world above the water. Why can they not sink very far down for very long?
(a) Because the soldiers won't let them.
(b) Because their stomachs are empty.
(c) Because they might get disoriented and drown.
(d) Because there are poisonous snakes that lurk at the bottom of the pond.

3. Why does Sombo return to the hidden village to kill everyone who lives there?
(a) Because he has become thirsty for blood after a lack of battle for so long.
(b) Because he is worried that if he does not, the villagers will sneak into their camp and kill them first.
(c) Because he goes back to steal their food and they put up a struggle, so he kills them.
(d) Because he thinks they told the Vietnamese his group's location.

4. 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 does not like Mr. Pond.
(b) Because Runty is scared all the time and is not good at volleyball.
(c) Because earlier that day Runty told Missus Gotobed that Arn had said a bad word.
(d) Because Arn suspects they are going to do something dangerous and he does not want Runty to get hurt.

5. When Arn finds Sophea lying motionless, he considers killing her to save her from rape, from murder at another's hands, or from being eaten by wild animals. He doesn't, instead choosing to take what action?
(a) Hide her the best he can.
(b) Tell Koong to watch over her until she dies and to join up with the group again later.
(c) Help her into a tree so the animals cannot get her.
(d) Keep walking.

Short Answer Questions

1. At one point, Arn becomes so hungry and thirsty and eats fruit off the ground even though there is something wrong with it. What's wrong with it?

2. After the tragedy, Arn goes to see the Khmer Rouge soldier boy who has told Arn and the other Little Fish that they are not real soldiers. What does he do before he goes to see this boy?

3. What does Arn do when the pretty woman with the long braid begs Arn to shoot her?

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

5. When he is mistaken for a member of the Khmer Rouge by one of their leaders, what is Arn's reaction?

Short Essay Questions

1. For what reasons does Arn choose Sojeat and Ravi as his two favorites when Mr. Pond asks him for two names?

2. After Sombo leaves the group to take Koong to a Thai hospital, the kids all argue about which they should go. Arn goes in the opposite direction and they see, but do not care. What reason does Arn give for their apathy?

3. Why do Arn, Siv, and Kha kick dirt over their excrement after they eat the sweet potato Arn brings back from the leader's house?

4. What is the author's purpose in including the two conflicting accounts of the war emanating from Sombo's radio?

5. When Arn determines that he has been away from his home village for two and a half years, how does he reach this conclusion?

6. What is the author's purpose for including Arn's comment that "now even the earth is our enemy"? (126)

7. How does the scene of the Vietnamese soldiers walking through the village calling out to the people echo a scene from the first chapter of the novel? What is the effect of that allusion?

8. Once Arn wakes up from being nursed back to health by the three girls in Thailand, how does the motif of sound come into play?

9. Why does Arn turn over all of the dead bodies of the villagers to look into their faces?

10. How does the author present the theme of the unnatural when Kha tells Arn and Siv that if they stay hidden, they can watch the girls bathe in the nude?

(see the answer keys)

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