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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 does Cantu's supervisor tell him he might find at first in his new job in intelligence?

2. What is Adam's reaction when Cantu asks him why his village is called a "vampire" village?

3. What do Morales and Cantu see in the desert night sky while working that awes them both?

4. When was the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo enacted?

5. Who is Cantu's first supervisor on his first rotating shifts with Border Patrol?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

2. Why do Cantu and other Border Patrol agents destroy any of the belongings and provisions they find in the desert?

3. What realization did Italian priest Father Eusebio Kino have when he climbed to the top of a volcanic peak south of the international boundary line in 1706?

4. What do Morales and Cantu see in the night sky that leaves an impression on them during one of their patrols together?

5. What does Cantu feel when he goes to visit Morales in the hospital following his motorcycle accident?

6. What does Adam say when Cantu asks him why his town is called the vampire town?

7. Who did Cantu's mother name him after and what was his namesake known for?

8. What is Cantu's impression of the people and atmosphere in Cuidad Juarez when the book opens?

9. What does Cantu's mother tell him about her feelings looking back on her career as a National Parks worker?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay analyzing what Cantu's attendance at his great-Aunt France's funeral, and his contact with his extended family there, reveals about his feelings and attitudes towards his own ethnic and cultural heritage.

Essay Topic 2

At different points in the book, Cantu listens to and trades insults and stories in graphic language with his colleagues at Border Patrol, who are all men. Write an essay analyzing what the sometimes crude and sexual language they use reveals about the work culture in the Border Patrol sector.

Essay Topic 3

What does Cantu's discussion about the rampant femicide in Mexico reveal about the culture in that country, and how does it help to explain some of the reasons for the increase in immigrants trying to cross the Mexican/U.S. border illegally? Write an essay explaining your answer, citing specific references to the text to support your conclusions.

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