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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. Why does the narrator scream at Selam?
(a) Selam had talked to Hadiya.
(b) She is boarding a train.
(c) She is swerving on her bike.
(d) She made a soccer goal.

2. Whom does Jubril ask to come on the bus to settle the matter about his seat?
(a) The bus terminal manager.
(b) A priest.
(c) The police.
(d) A city official.

3. What does the narrator do when she first sees Selam at her apartment?
(a) She throws her some candy.
(b) She yells at her.
(c) She closes the drapes.
(d) She stares at her.

4. What is the narrator looking for at Selam's apartment building?
(a) The pigeons roosting on the roof.
(b) A light in the kitchen window.
(c) Smoke from the fireplace.
(d) The blinds to open.

5. Two people who share a close bond are able to _________________________.
(a) Instill insecurities in each other.
(b) Communicate messages to each other.
(c) Make each other angry.
(d) Finish each other's sentences.

Short Answer Questions

1. What had a girl named Hadiya told Selam at school one day?

2. What was Jubril's punishment for stealing a goat?

3. The narrator and her best friend vacation with ___________________.

4. A man named Emeka takes care of another man who has ___________________.

5. During one vacation, Selam asks the narrator ___________________________.

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the Chief signify in the story?

2. How is the story, "What Language is That"? different from the other stories in this book?

3. What is the core source of all the violence that takes place in the story?

4. How do the policemen who take the sick man off the bus represent the corruption that exists in the country?

5. How does Jubril disguise his being a Muslim while on the bus?

6. What ban by the Nigerian government takes place just prior to the opening of the story, "Luxurious Hearses"?

7. What elements of Western life are uncomfortable for Jubril while on the bus?

8. What is at the base of all the trivial conflicts in the story?

9. What does the narrator experience on the day her parents inform her she can no longer play with Selam?

10. What is the unifying thread of the conflicts in the story?

(see the answer keys)

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