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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What do the young boys tell Cantu that the man in their party who died did that might explain his death?
(a) He did not drink any water during the entire journey.
(b) He had left his heart pills at home.
(c) He took a pill the coyote gave him - likely an amphetamine.
(d) He did not take his insulin during the entire journey.

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

3. How does Cantu's mother become injured in Mexico during their trip there in the book's prologue?
(a) She drinks some tainted water and contracts an illness.
(b) She twists her ankle walking across a busy street.
(c) She is hit by a stray bullet.
(d) She is bitten by a stray dog.

4. Which treaty modified the border delineation between Mexico and the U.S. in 1853?
(a) The Treaty of La Mesilla.
(b) The Treaty of Versailles.
(c) The Treaty of El Paso.
(d) The Treaty of Yucatan.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Why do the tribal police often decline to come to pick up abandoned vehicles when Border Patrol calls them?

2. What does Cantu deliberately shoot at the firing range just to see if he is capable of taking a life?

3. How long does Cantu spend in training in his Border Patrol unit on page 35?

4. On page 76, what does Cantu's mother tell him she is worried about apart from his safety on his job?

5. Which of the following is one reason Cantu's mother tells him she embarked on the career she chose?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Cantu discover that some coyotes, or smugglers who are paid to help immigrants cross the border illegally, give to immigrants to "help" on their journey?

2. How does Cantu's own experiences in Ciudad Juarez compare to what he has heard about the city?

3. What do Cantu and his mother always do as a tradition on Christmas Eve together?

4. Why did Hart's roommate, Dominguez, quit the Border Patrol training?

5. Why do some of the agents at the Border Patrol station call Cole "Black Death"?

6. What does the dentist who works on Cantu's mouth surmise about his problem grinding his teeth?

7. Why does Cantu want to see his classmate Santiago graduate the most out of all his classmates in Border Patrol Training?

8. Why does one of the older man from Michoacan ask Cantu if there is any work for him to do at the Border Patrol station as he awaits deportation processing?

9. How does Mortenson treat Cantu when they first meet on the job?

10. What do some of the other Border Patrol agents suggest might help combat the smell of dead bodies when going out to recover them in the desert?

(see the answer keys)

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