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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. When a boy offers to show Mahmoud and his family somewhere they can sleep, how much money does he charge them for the information?
(a) 500 Syrian pounds or about $2.50 American dollars.
(b) 2,000 Syrian pounds or about $10 American dollars.
(c) 1,000 Syrian pounds or about $5 American dollars.
(d) 6,000 Syrian pounds or about $30 American dollars.

2. Risking his life by running through gunfire back to the car, Mahmoud's father retrieves what object from the car?
(a) A stuffed rabbit.
(b) A flashlight.
(c) A gun.
(d) A cell phone.

3. When Josef's ship slows down, causing his father to think that the ship is being turned around, what is the true cause of the change in speed?
(a) An approaching storm.
(b) A man who has been reported missing.
(c) An approaching tanker.
(d) A funeral at sea.

4. What does Isabel give the fisherman in return for gasoline to power Ivan's family's boat?
(a) Mofongo.
(b) A trumpet.
(c) A coat.
(d) A backpack.

5. What show is Waleed watching when the family's apartment is destroyed by a missile?
(a) Power Rangers.
(b) Teletubbies.
(c) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
(d) The Smurfs.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who gives Mahmoud's father directions that will keep the family away from major sites of fighting?

2. What shared characteristic had bonded the Soviet Union to Cuba prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union?

3. During Isabel's boat journey, her grandfather Lito tells her that she does have family in what part of the world?

4. Even though Fidel Castro announces to the Cuban people that they are now free to leave Cuba whenever they want, why is Isabel's mother still especially wary about the trip?

5. In order to avail themselves of the smuggler's help, Mahmoud and his family must first make it to what city on the coast of Turkey?

Short Essay Questions

1. Compare and contrast Josef's thoughts about the ship's full speed with Captain Schroeder's comments about the ship's full speed.

2. When Isabel and Ivan are incredulous that Lito had had many chances to leave Cuba over the years and had not done so, what reasons does Lito give for not leaving?

3. What is the author's purpose for characterizing the Nazis terrorizing Josef's family as "shadows"? (1)

4. How is the the ship Josef's family boards shown by the author to be paradoxical?

5. Why does Isabel feel awe in response to the riots in Cuba in addition to fear?

6. How is irony employed within the author's choice of the material that lines Isabel's boat?

7. What qualities of Senor Castillo's lead to his role as the leader on the boat?

8. Why does Mahmoud's family choose Germany as a place to run to when they leave Syria?

9. How does the author go about portraying Mahmoud as an empathetic soul?

10. What happens the first two times Isabel's father tries to journey to America from Cuba?

(see the answer keys)

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