View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Ryan compare the area where he and Valerie move in Chapter 11 to?

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

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

4. Which family members of Ryan's were in the audience to hear him sing in his first opera a the Met on opening night?

5. Who invited Marian Anderson to sing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1939 after she was barred from singing at Constitution Hall?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 13, what does Ken Noda tell Ryan about how he will be judged as a singer because of his race?

2. Why does Ryan's brother Adrian leave home?

3. In Chapter 11, how does Ryan's budding relationship with the red-headed soprano work out?

4. Why did the famous opera singer Marian Anderson perform a concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1939?

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

6. Why does Ryan like spending time at his friend Jared Poulter's house in high school?

7. What happens to Ryan on the night of November 4, 2008, when Barack Obama is elected president?

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay analyzing how Ryan's relationship with his brother Adrian changed from childhood, through adolescence, and into adulthood. Make sure to cite specific examples from the text in your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Brian Zeger, who runs the Met's vocal training program, talks about the technical advantages, aspects, and challenges of Ryan's voice in Chapter 14. Write an essay analyzing why Zeger thinks Ryan's voice is so unique and outstanding; do not ignore some of the drawbacks Zeger thinks Ryan needs to work on.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay analyzing why Ryan seems so desperate to connect with the boy Bergner identifies as a rapper during his visit to the juvenile detention center in Chapter 16.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 832 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample