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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 Isabel thinks of her family's journey as a song, she thinks that what events would constitute the first verse?
(a) The tanker and the storm.
(b) The trip from the Bahamas to Florida.
(c) The trip from Cuba to the Dominican Republic.
(d) The riots and the bartering for gasoline.

2. Where does the Greek Coast Guard take Mahmoud and the other refugees at dawn once the boat is full of people?
(a) Cypress.
(b) Sicily.
(c) Tuscany.
(d) Lesbos.

3. For whom does Josef tear his clothing in recognition of his own loss of the person?
(a) Josef's mother.
(b) Josef's sister.
(c) Josef's father.
(d) Josef's cousin.

4. When Mahmoud and his family reach the border of Hungary, what are the Hungarian soldiers doing?
(a) Building a fence.
(b) Loading their weapons.
(c) Sewing red armbands.
(d) Putting on riot gear.

5. What does Mami say it is time for, once she puts a stop to the brewing argument on the boat?
(a) A water break.
(b) Praying.
(c) A truce.
(d) Paddling.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the reason that Mahmoud's family's boat begins to fill with water on their journey to the island?

2. What is the name of the man who saves Josef's father and is later celebrated for his heroism at a reception on the ship?

3. When Isabel first sees the lights of Miami, what does she think she is seeing instead?

4. How many euros does the taxi driver transporting Mahmoud and his family demand at gunpoint?

5. What is NOT listed among the items provided by the tourists who help Isabel and the other passengers?

Short Essay Questions

1. What reaction do the other passengers of the MS St. Louis have to Renata and Evelyne being allowed to leave the ship to join their father?

2. What does Isabel mean when she thinks that "Fidel Castro has Ivan's blood all over him" (224)?

3. How does Mahmoud save his infant sister Hana from drowning after the family's dinghy bursts upon the rocks?

4. What is the reason given for the firemen on the ship engaging in bad behavior while the ship is docked in Cuba and what are they said to be doing?

5. What change occurs in Josef's mother's personality once the MS St. Louis leaves Cuba?

6. What is Josef's mother's plan for procuring a sleeping potion to help calm her husband Aaron down?

7. For what reason does Dr. Aber, the father of Renata and Evelyne, tell the girls to disembark from the ship without bringing any of their belongings?

8. Why does Isabel not want to look at the face of her dead best friend Ivan?

9. How do Mahmoud and his family reach the Serbian border on their journey fleeing Syria?

10. Though the narrator states that a few of the refugees Mahmoud sees when boarding the dinghy have backpacks or plastic bags, how are most of the refugees carrying their belongings?

(see the answer keys)

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