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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. Just before Mahmoud tumbles from the boat into the sea, someone at the front of the dinghy yells that he sees what objects?
(a) Rescue boats.
(b) Rocks.
(c) Lightning strikes.
(d) Lighthouses.

2. The narrator states that Isabel had been so close to Ivan that he felt to her more like a what than like a best friend?
(a) A brother.
(b) An uncle.
(c) A guardian angel.
(d) A cousin.

3. 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.

4. When the head of the ship's committee tells the passengers that the ship will be heading back to Europe, what are the two phrases chanted by the passengers?
(a) "We will not die" and "We will not return."
(b) "Set us free" and "Do the right thing."
(c) "We won't give up" and "We will not die."
(d) "Set us free or pay the price" and "Freedom now."

5. Why is Lito alarmed when a passenger shoots at the sharks in the water with his pistol?
(a) Lito thinks that Luis looks like he is having a mental breakdown.
(b) Lito is worried that the sharks' blood will bring a greater number of sharks.
(c) Lito is worried that in his anger, Luis will hit a passenger by mistake.
(d) Lito does not want the group to waste their bullets.

Short Answer Questions

1. When Mahmoud and his family finally reach Greece, no one is celebrating and Mahmoud says he knows why. What reason does Mahmoud give for the refugees' lack of celebration?

2. When Isabel's boat is sinking and all the passengers are bailing furiously, what kind of craft approaches them suddenly?

3. What action does Waleed take throughout the entire robbery by the taxi driver, causing Mahmoud to worry about his emotional well-being?

4. As the passengers are chanting in desperation, who does Josef see lingering in the doorway and smiling?

5. When it gets too dark to navigate, what strategy does Isabel advocate for?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. 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?

3. 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?

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

5. 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?

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

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

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

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

10. How are the roles of father and son reversed within the scene when Schiendick leaves Josef and his family alone in their cabin after tormenting them?

(see the answer keys)

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