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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why do Rodriguez's teachers visit his house?
(a) To ask the family to practice speaking English.
(b) To meet his parents.
(c) To talk about his bad behavior.
(d) To ask his parents to volunteer at the school.

2. What religion does Rodriguez's family practice?
(a) Buddhism.
(b) Catholicism.
(c) Judaism.
(d) Christianity.

3. What do fellow students think of the scholarship boy?
(a) They are proud of his efforts.
(b) They think he is the teacher's pet.
(c) They think he works too hard.
(d) They think he needs to work harder.

4. According to Rodriguez, what is wrong with speaking a private language in public?
(a) Most people will not understand what is being said.
(b) It will eventually stop being a private language.
(c) It is embarrassing.
(d) It prevents people from learning the public language.

5. Why is the picture of Christ with a punctured heart important?
(a) It symbolizes the intersection of church, school, and home.
(b) It frightens Richard and gives him nightmares.
(c) It symbolizes everything his family believes about God.
(d) It is the first gift his family gets from a priest.

6. What does Rodriguez realize about language and intimacy?
(a) That he can express himself better in English than in Spanish.
(b) That intimacy is about the relationship between the people, not about what language they speak.
(c) That language is how a person maintains their intimacy with other people.
(d) That Spanish is always a more intimate language that English.

7. How does Rodriguez's father change as the family starts to speak English more?
(a) He complains about using English.
(b) He grows quieter because he is uncomfortable with English.
(c) He takes classes to learn English.
(d) He gets upset and insists that they speak to him in Spanish.

8. How does Rodriguez describe his life as a child?
(a) Boring.
(b) Frightening.
(c) Fun.
(d) Sheltered.

9. What does Rodriguez start to notice about English?
(a) How much easier it is to say things in English than in Spanish.
(b) How much English helps him do better in school.
(c) Sounds and tones he previously ignored.
(d) Words he understands now that he did not understand before.

10. Where do Rodriguez's parents speak Spanish and where do they speak English?
(a) Spanish at home, English in public.
(b) English at home, Spanish in public.
(c) Spanish everywhere.
(d) English everywhere.

11. Once the family has shifted to speaking English, how does Rodriguez feel when he hears families speaking Spanish?
(a) Rodriguez is pleased to know that Spanish is still being spoken in people's homes.
(b) Rodriguez is sad because it reminds him of the closeness his family lost.
(c) Rodriguez is frustrated because he thinks those families are making it harder for their children to learn English.
(d) Rodriguez is embarrassed because he thinks everyone should speak English.

12. Why does Rodriguez say he is writing this book?
(a) To complain about the bad schools he attended.
(b) To study how he became the person he is today.
(c) To explain how hard school is for children who do not speak English.
(d) To encourage other people to get a good education.

13. How does Rodriguez's father react to his educational accomplishments?
(a) He does not care if Richard does well in school.
(b) He teases him, but is still proud of him.
(c) He says college is a waste of time.
(d) He throws away Richard's diploma.

14. How does Rodriguez see the scholarship boy?
(a) As the teacher's pet.
(b) As the future of the country.
(c) As the teacher's puppet.
(d) As someone who is doomed to fail.

15. How is the "scholarship boy" described?
(a) A good son but a troubled student.
(b) A good student who is guaranteed to succeed.
(c) A good student but a troubled son.
(d) A good son who wants to please his parents.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does his mother think about his reading?

2. Rodriguez describes events that happened how many years ago?

3. When Rodriguez's mother becomes more fluent in English, she convinces her husband to buy _________. (fill in the blank)

4. How does a scholarship boy form his own ideas or opinions?

5. In The Achievement of Desire, Chapter 4, what is Rodriguez afraid to admit?

(see the answer keys)

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