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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why does Cantu's mother tell him she insisted on keeping her maiden name after she married his father?
(a) So he could pass the name on to his own children.
(b) So he would always carry something from her family and not forget his Mexican heritage.
(c) She he would benefit from her family's political connections.
(d) So he could always easily apply for a Mexican passport if he wanted to.

2. What do the Border Patrol agents who have processed dead bodies tell Cantu is the worst thing about the work?
(a) The sight.
(b) The heat.
(c) The smell.
(d) The sound.

3. According to Cantu, why do so many bodies in the morgue in Juarez remain unclaimed?
(a) Families are too poor to pay the fees to collect the bodies.
(b) Families do not know their loved ones have died.
(c) Families have already moved out of the country, so they are not there to claim their loved ones' bodies.
(d) Families fear retribution if they claim their loved ones' bodies.

4. What visions of migrants does Cantu describe sometimes seeing in his nightmares on page 34?
(a) Migrants who have been bitten by poisonous snakes.
(b) Dead migrants who have not made it out of the desert alive.
(c) Migrant children looking for their parents in the desert.
(d) Migrants who have been shot and thrown in mass graves.

5. Where does Cantu's supervisor say he hopes to be transferred to eventually?
(a) Atlanta.
(b) Northern Virginia or Washington, D.C.
(c) Chicago.
(d) New York City.

6. How do other agents refer to the village Adam and his wife live in?
(a) The vampire village.
(b) The meerkat.
(c) The borderline.
(d) The dead zone.

7. How old were the young immigrant sisters Mortenson asks Cantu to translate for on page 51?
(a) 9 and 10.
(b) 15 and 16.
(c) 6 and 7.
(d) 20 and 21.

8. What does Cantu's supervisor tell him he might find at first in his new job in intelligence?
(a) It may seem boring compared to field work.
(b) His eyes may seem tired from looking at screens all day.
(c) His ears might ring from wearing headphones all day.
(d) The shift work may be difficult to adjust to.

9. Why do some people on the reservation sleep in the middle of the road?
(a) They want to stop the cars from passing.
(b) They are confused and think it is a sandy beach.
(c) When they are intoxicated, they want to sleep somewhere warm, and the asphalt retains the day's heat.
(d) They think it means they will be taken into custody and given a warm bed.

10. Which of the following is one reason Cantu's mother tells him she embarked on the career she chose?
(a) She wanted to help foster stronger ties with the U.S.'s allies abroad.
(b) She wanted to make sure everyone had equal access to higher education.
(c) She wanted to guard the landscape against ruin.
(d) She wanted to make sure consumers were protected.

11. What does Cantu want to tell Adam on the phone but holds himself back from suggesting?
(a) He should install new locks and deadbolts on all his doors.
(b) He should take his family and move somewhere else, far from the border.
(c) He should make sure he always carries a gun.
(d) He should leave the church he has been a member of his entire life.

12. What often happens, according to Cantu, when the U.S. enacts a border crackdown?
(a) Undocumented immigrants chose other countries to immigrate to.
(b) Undocumented immigrants stop coming into the country.
(c) Undocumented immigration surges.
(d) Smugglers increase their fees for helping people cross the border.

13. When was the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo enacted?
(a) 1848.
(b) 1776.
(c) 1946.
(d) 1750.

14. How long does Cantu spend in training in his Border Patrol unit on page 35?
(a) 3 months.
(b) 1 month.
(c) 6 months.
(d) 1 year.

15. On page 83, what does the dentist ask Cantu if he was aware of as a problem with his teeth?
(a) Whether he knew he had several teeth missing.
(b) Whether he knew he had gingivitis.
(c) Whether he knew he had five cavities.
(d) Whether he knew he was grinding his teeth.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Cantu tell his mother he wants to work in Border Patrol on page 23?

2. On page 70, what does Cantu see on his way home from working the swing shift that unsettles him?

3. What Oaxacan food did the two men Morales and Cantu picked up on page 50 offer to Cantu?

4. What animal features in one of Cantu's unsettling dreams on page 14?

5. Why is Morales in the hospital on page 65?

(see the answer keys)

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