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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How long has the narrator been out of Sri Lanka?
(a) Less than a month.
(b) Three years.
(c) More than twenty years.
(d) Twelve years.

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

3. When the narrator and the cashier strike up a conversation, what does the narrator want to know?
(a) If there are many Sri Lankans living in London.
(b) If there's a good Sri Lankan restaurant nearby.
(c) If the cashier is from Sri Lanka.
(d) If the cashier knows what language is spoken in Sri Lanka.

4. Alone in the house, Triton falls asleep. When he is awakened by a sound, what does he think it is?
(a) Mr. Salgado returning.
(b) A robber.
(c) Wind knocking a window open.
(d) Stray cat.

5. One night, Triton dreams that there is a demon in the house, and in the morning he oversleeps. What does he tell Mr. Salgado that morning?
(a) Someone tries to break in, but Triton chases him away.
(b) The raging storm outside keeps Triton up all night.
(c) Joseph steals Mr. Salgado's best wine the night before.
(d) Triton fears the house may be haunted.

6. What is Triton worried about, regarding being under Joseph's rule?
(a) That Joseph slits his throat.
(b) That Joseph sells him to a passing tourist.
(c) That he, too, becomes mean and corrupt.
(d) That he attacks the man to protect himself.

7. Why does the cashier want the narrator to use his phone?
(a) To show him how to use the phone.
(b) To speak with his boss.
(c) To call the police.
(d) To call his landlady.

8. When it starts to rain, Triton hopes that Joseph ____.
(a) Falls into the bay.
(b) Catches pneumonia.
(c) Crashes his car.
(d) Slips and falls off the bridge.

9. Once inside the office, what does the narrator ask the cashier?
(a) Why he leaves his wife behind.
(b) Who helps him escape from Sri Lanka.
(c) Where he lives.
(d) How long he's been in England.

10. How far away is Sri Lanka from England?
(a) Two thousand eight hundred miles.
(b) Six thousand miles.
(c) A thousand miles.
(d) Four hundred miles.

11. At night, what does young Triton dream of?
(a) Revenge against Mr. Salgado.
(b) Going back to his family.
(c) Going to the beach with the neighbor girl.
(d) Revenge against Joseph.

12. What does Triton say when Mr. Salgado asks him if he has any schooling?
(a) He's been to school at the temple and is familiar with religious teachings.
(b) He has some schooling but he does not like the teachers.
(c) He's been to school, knows how to read and write, and speaks some English.
(d) He has no time for school because he's had to help raise his siblings.

13. After recording information about his car, what does the narrator do?
(a) Takes his old battery in for recycling.
(b) Goes to pay for the gasoline.
(c) Closes his cans of paint.
(d) Waxes his car.

14. What does Mr. Salgado's house represent to Triton when he is a boy?
(a) A magical place to explore and enjoy.
(b) A beautiful prison.
(c) Home away from home.
(d) Center of the universe.

15. 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 sanctuary for plant scientists.
(d) A diver's paradise.

Short Answer Questions

1. How long has the cashier been out of Sri Lanka?

2. The cashier says his Sri Lankan home is near what city?

3. As a young servant for Mr. Salgado, Triton's regular duties include what?

4. What vehicle does the narrator own when the story opens?

5. When the narrator and cashier meet, what is happening in Sri Lanka?

(see the answer keys)

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