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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 second time Arn joins the volleyball game, he plays skillfully and everyone claps. Why does he do so well at the game this time around?
(a) Because he has conditioned himself to control his fear of flying objects.
(b) Because he has asked Sojeat and Ravi ahead of time to set up some good plays for him to build from.
(c) Because he has been practicing all day every day and has even been sneaking out at night to practice.
(d) Because he has replaced the regular volleyball with a rubber ball that is easier to maneuver.

2. 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?
(a) A little girl laughing.
(b) A rock 'n roll song by Elvis Presley.
(c) A bird chirping.
(d) A Cambodian love song.

3. When Mr. Pond gives Arn new clothes, Arn gives his old clothes to Mr. Pond. Mr. Pond then breaks down in tears. Why does he cry?
(a) Because the clothes are stiff with blood and dirt and the smell of death.
(b) Because the clothes are three sizes too small for Arn.
(c) Because the clothes are full of holes.
(d) Because the clothes are the black uniform Mr. Pond knows is worn by the Khmer Rouge.

4. When the radio makes clear that the Vietnamese soldiers really are coming, chaos erupts and many children run away in the melee. Sombo asks Arn why he doesn't run away to find his family. Why does Arn not run away?
(a) He now feels so far removed from his biological family that his friends seem much more important to stay close to in this world.
(b) He realizes that he has no idea why he does not run away; the thought has just never occurred to him.
(c) He is afraid that the Khmer Rouge will recognize him due to his fame and shoot him for the traitor they will consider him to be.
(d) He is afraid the soldiers in the next camp will kill his little sister Sophea if he runs away.

5. Arn hallucinates, seeing a rabbit as large as he is and this illusion seems to lead the way to Thailand. What color is the rabbit he hallucinates?
(a) Black.
(b) Brown.
(c) Orange.
(d) White.

Short Answer Questions

1. When Arn asks a nurse what month and year it is, she replies that it's March 1979. He then figures out he has been away from home for how long in total?

2. When his sister kisses Arn's ear, what is NOT something he says the sensation feels like?

3. What is Arn's reaction to seeing his sister again?

4. When Arn has a touching moment with the baby monkey but then snaps its neck and wonders why he has done this terrible thing, what conclusion does he come to?

5. 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?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the parting of Arn and Mek. What is its significance within the course of the narrative?

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

3. At the start of his stay in the hospital, how does the author demonstrate that Arn has contracted Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from his time under the rule of the Khmer Rouge?

4. Why does Arn begin to shake after he boards the bus with the other refugees?

5. What words does the dying lady in the village spit at Arn and why do her words hurt him so much?

6. Arn and Missus Gotobed, the headmistress of the Children's Center, become furious with Mr. Pond for his behavior on two separate occasions for two different reasons. How do those reasons differ?

7. 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?

8. When Arn hears the conflicting reports on Sombo's radio, with the Voice of Angka saying that a victory for the Khmer Rouge is imminent and the American station saying that the Vietnamese are in control of the East and are taking more land every day, Arn doesn't know which report to believe. He does, though, hold on to one fact that he hears. What is that fact and why does he choose to keep it in mind?

9. What new privileges does Arn receive while acting as the leader's assistant of sorts and what feelings do these new privileges inspire in him?

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

(see the answer keys)

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