View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How did Yusuf die?
(a) He was stoned to death.
(b) He had a terminal illness.
(c) He was stabbed.
(d) He drowned.

2. Jubril buys a ticket on which bus line to take him out of the city to his father's village?
(a) Greyhound Bus.
(b) Luxurious Buses.
(c) Amtrak.
(d) Nigerian Express Lines.

3. What does the soldier carry onto the bus?
(a) A Bible.
(b) A machete.
(c) A dog.
(d) A set of golf clubs.

4. Who says, "Best friends don't quarrel" when Selam begins to cry?
(a) Selam.
(b) Hadiya.
(c) The narrator.
(d) The narrator's father.

5. What place does the narrator have in her family?
(a) The oldest child.
(b) The middle child.
(c) An only child.
(d) The youngest child.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which of the following do Selam and the narrator NOT do when they see each other from their apartments?

2. Which of the following is NOT something Selam likes about the narrator?

3. Why do the bus passengers side with Jubril against the village chief?

4. Who is the protagonist of the story?

5. Why is the bus unable to leave as scheduled?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do the narrator and Selam find a way to communicate with each other when they are not allowed to play together?

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

3. How does Akpan's choice of second person narration affect the reader?

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

5. What does the Chief signify in the story?

6. Why are the passengers on the bus infused with a sense of urgency?

7. How had Jubril lost his right hand and why is it important for him to hide that fact while on the bus?

8. Why does Akpan choose second person narration for the story?

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

10. What is the narrator's father's advice to Selam regarding eating pork?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,022 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample