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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who comforts Ryan when he gets the news at the Met that his father has died?

2. What does Ryan tell Adrian shortly after their father's funeral?

3. What do the kids on Ryan's bus say when they find out he is singing opera?

4. What surprises Ryan about his mother when she visits him in New York in Chapter 15?

5. What does Ryan's voice teacher, Mark Oswald, ask him to do to help improve his sound in Chapter 14?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Noda say is the greatest part of Ryan's appeal as a singer?

2. When does Ryan first settle on the idea that he would like to sing at the Met someday?

3. What does winning the Met's competition for young singers mean for a young singer's career?

4. What does Brian Zeger, who runs the Met's training program, say is the real strength of Ryan's voice?

5. What do Ryan's music teachers at the Governor's School think of his voice when they first hear him sing?

6. What kind of influence does Mr. Brown have on Ryan during his time teaching him?

7. Why does it bother Ryan so much when people ask him to sing the song Ol' Man River?

8. Why does Ryan join the Latin club and deliberately start making friends with white students in school when he is released from the juvenile detention center?

9. What is the personal connection that helps Ryan get into the Virginia Governor's School for the Arts?

10. How does Gayletha Nichols describes Ryan's appeal to other people in Chapter 14?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay analyzing how Ryan's approach to music and his emotional connection to certain pieces seems to have changed following his father Cecil's sudden death, citing specific references to the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay analyzing the impact Mr. Brown, Ryan's music teacher at the Virginia Governor's School for the Arts, has on Ryan's life and career. What are some of the major struggles Mr. Brown faces in his own life before his death?

Essay Topic 3

Although Ryan befriends his fellow singer and competitor Philippe during the Met's contest, he becomes more and more aware of the gulf in the backgrounds and confidence. Write an essay comparing and contrasting Ryan's and Philippe's experiences and how their backgrounds seem to affect each singer's attitudes towards the Met's competition.

(see the answer keys)

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