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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. What is the narrator's Number 2 reason listed in "Five Reasons I Have Locks"?

2. What team does Josh describe having just beaten in "Mom Calls Me into the Kitchen"?

3. How many sisters does the girl say she has in "Phone Conversation (I Sub for JB)"?

4. Whom does Josh say JB is too shy to talk to in "Ironic"?

5. "35-18" is described as the final score of what game in the poem with the same name?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Josh describe his brother in "Jordan Bell"?

2. What are some examples of stylistic choices made by the author in the poem "Dribbling"?

3. Why does Josh suggest his father write a book in "Conversation"?

4. How are the careers of Josh's parents described in the narrative?

5. What metaphors are seen in "Basketball Rule #1"?

6. How do JB and Josh respond to their father's collapse in "I"m on Free Throw Number Twenty-Seven"?

7. How did Josh Bell get his nickname? What is the significance of Josh's nickname?

8. How does Josh define "irony" in "Ironic"? How does he apply irony to his life?

9. What are the five resons that Josh describes for having dreadlocks in "Five Reasons I Have Locks"?

10. How does Josh describe JB's behavior in the first poem titled "Conversation" from "Second Quarter"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the use of nicknames in The Crossover. What is Josh's nickname and what significance does it have? What is Chuck's nickname and how did he obtain it? How do these nicknames reflect upon the characters in the story?

Essay Topic 2

Several poems throughout The Crossover are titled "Basketball Rule #." What is the significance of these particular poems? How do these poems stand out stylistically from the others in the verse novel?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the symbolism of Josh's dreadlocks in The Crossover. What reasons does Josh give for having dreadlocks? What does it signify when his dreadlocks are cut off? Who cuts them off?

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