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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. Which of the following is noted as the amount remitted home by immigrants form South Sudan?

2. Which of the following players is a freshman at Central?

3. Which of the following is placed on the South Sudanese national youth team alongside Sooley?

4. With which of the following diseases are James and Chol diagnosed?

5. For which of the following teams does Niollo play during his career?

Short Essay Questions

1. What reasons does Murray give for attending Central?

2. When the South Sudanese national youth team assembles, what overall idea does Ecko impart to the players?

3. What does Ecko note to Sooley as “the same basic parts” of a good jump shot (13)?

4. What is cited as a weakness of Sooley’s speed?

5. In his welcome speech to Central’s basketball team, what does the school’s athletic director say?

6. How do Ecko and Britt know one another?

7. How are Beatrice’s first days in Rhino Camp described?

8. How is Ecko Lam introduced in the text (8)?

9. What threat do the South Sudanese soldiers note Sooley might have faced had they not interdicted the attack on his bus home?

10. When Sooley is invited to try out for the South Sudanese national youth team, how does his village mark the occasion?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Sooley and Murray confer about the presence of many coaches and support staff at various games. What implications does the abundance of support personnel have for the game they play? What implications does it have for the novel? How do those implications manifest, both in the book and in experience?

Essay Topic 2

As the South Sudanese national youth team coalesces, much attention is paid to the experiences of violence and tragedy among its members. What narrative function does the emphasis on such things serve, and how is that function achieved?

Essay Topic 3

Throughout the novel, Murray’s mother is referred to and addressed as Miss Ida. What significance does the persistence of the title have? How does that significance manifest in the novel?

(see the answer keys)

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