View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the narrator doing as the story opens?
(a) Filling the tank of his car.
(b) Washing his car.
(c) Painting his car.
(d) Replacing the battery of his car.

2. When Mr. Salgado takes a weekend trip to his cousin's tea estate, who is left in charge of the household?
(a) A neighbor.
(b) Lucy-amma.
(c) Triton.
(d) Joseph.

3. The region of Sri Lanka that the cashier comes from is once what?
(a) A seafood cornucopia.
(b) A coffee-producing economic center.
(c) A diver's paradise.
(d) A sanctuary for plant scientists.

4. Who stumbles towards the narrator and the cashier as the two are engrossed in conversation?
(a) Mutual friend.
(b) Police officer.
(c) Drunk man.
(d) Distraught child.

5. In what language does the narrator try to speak to the cashier?
(a) Spanish.
(b) Sinhala.
(c) Swedish.
(d) Swahili.

6. Why are Triton and Joseph left alone at Mr. Salgado's house?
(a) Mr. Salgado is on a business trip and Lucy-amma is taking care of a dying relative.
(b) Mr. Salgado and Lucy-amma take separate trips at the same time.
(c) Mr. Salgado is on vacation and Lucy-amma is in the hospital.
(d) Mr. Salgado takes Lucy-amma out for her birthday.

7. What does the individual who approaches the cashier and narrator begin to do?
(a) Calls their names.
(b) Cries loudly.
(c) Laughs out loud.
(d) Hammers at the window.

8. Who used to own the car that belongs to the narrator at the start of the story?
(a) Lucy-amma.
(b) Miss Nili.
(c) Mr. Salgado.
(d) Joseph.

9. Although Mr. Salgado goes to the best schools in Colombo, he considers himself what?
(a) Not smart enough.
(b) Self-educated.
(c) A philosopher, not a scientist.
(d) Far more intelligent than his colleagues.

10. At the start of the story, what does the narrator notice about the cashier?
(a) The cashier resembles him.
(b) The cashier looks frightened.
(c) The cashier is asleep.
(d) The cashier looks drunk.

11. When Triton gets up to investigate the source of the sound in the house, he finds Joseph in Mr. Salgado's room. What is the man doing there?
(a) Trying out Mr. Salgado's clothes.
(b) Reading Mr. Salgado's diary.
(c) Stealing money.
(d) Rubbing cologne on his chest.

12. After escaping from Joseph, where does Triton go to wait?
(a) In the living room.
(b) At the courthouse.
(c) In the library.
(d) By the gate.

13. When Joseph is in Mr. Salgado's room, what does he do when Triton finds him there?
(a) Runs out the door.
(b) Threatens the boy with a knife.
(c) Pushes the boy onto the bed.
(d) Lets out a loud scream.

14. In response to the intrusion upon the conversation between him and the narrator, what does the cashier do?
(a) Turns off the cubicle light.
(b) Hugs the individual who approached them.
(c) Takes out his pepper spray.
(d) Shows the approaching individual the "Closed" sign.

15. When Joseph leaves and Triton is left alone in the house, how does the boy feel?
(a) Terribly frightened.
(b) Angry.
(c) At peace.
(d) Trapped.

Short Answer Questions

1. With Joseph gone, Triton goes from being houseboy to being ___.

2. How does Triton try to protect himself from Joseph when he's left alone with him in the house?

3. What does Mr. Salgado's house represent to Triton when he is a boy?

4. How far away is Sri Lanka from England?

5. How long has the narrator been out of Sri Lanka?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 590 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample