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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. In what location does Josef's mother spend all her time on the ship since leaving Cuba?
(a) In the dance hall.
(b) In the cafeteria.
(c) On the sundeck.
(d) In her cabin.

2. Which of Josef's family members is left behind when the ship leaves the Cuban harbor?
(a) Josef's mother.
(b) Josef's cousin.
(c) Josef's father.
(d) Josef's sister.

3. To what location does a taxi driver offer to drive Mahmoud and his family if they give him 24,000 Syrian pounds?
(a) Serbia.
(b) Macedonia.
(c) Lesbos.
(d) Crete.

4. How long does it take Josef's ship to sail from Havana to within viewing distance of Miami?
(a) Less than two hours.
(b) Less than six hours.
(c) Less than a day.
(d) Less than forty-eight hours.

5. After Amara and Isabel's action that reduces the drag on the boat, who tells them that they have doomed every passenger on the boat?
(a) Señor Castillo.
(b) Lito.
(c) Luis.
(d) Señora Castillo.

Short Answer Questions

1. When Isabel and her family finally reach land and believe they have reached Florida, where have they landed instead?

2. Who rescues Josef's father Aaron from the sea after Aaron jumps overboard?

3. When Josef's father is in the throes of a mental breakdown, he tells Josef that each night at the concentration camp, the prisoners were forced to watch one prisoner do what?

4. In what activity are Isabel and the other boat passengers engaging when Ivan is attacked by a shark?

5. What percentage of the adult fare does the smuggler engaged by Mahmoud's father charge for children and babies?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. When Isabel realizes that each part of the journey has been like the verse of a song, what results does she come up with when thinking of the various verses the song would include?

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

4. What plans for his life in Florida does Señor Castillo reveal to the remaining passengers in the boat after Ivan's death?

5. What happens to Mahmoud's family on the way from Belgrade to the Hungarian border?

6. What details does Isabel remember about her grandmother Lita's death?

7. For what reasons does Lito take on the role of leading Ivan's funeral ceremony?

8. What shocking detail does Mahmoud's father reveal to his family once they have been thrown into the water by their dinghy's destruction on the rocks?

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

10. On the second day of Isabel's journey, it is said that it seems to Isabel and Ivan that everyone has a job but the two of them. What jobs are being handled by the others?

(see the answer keys)

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