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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why doesn't the Ganguli baby get the name it was supposed to get before leaving the hospital?
(a) Indian babies are never named so early in life.
(b) Ashoke and Ashima couldn't agree on a name.
(c) There was a mixup on the birth certificate.
(d) The grandmother's letter never arrived.

2. How does a book save Ashoke's life?
(a) The book is like a warning and he avoids disaster.
(b) It doesn't have anything to do with his survival.
(c) It stops a piece of flying metal that could have killed him.
(d) He is reading it and, thus, is in a safe place during the train wreck.

3. What did Gogol do at his birthday party with friends that he'd never done before?
(a) He finally had a frosted cake and ice cream.
(b) He had a boy-girl party with dancing.
(c) He got presents from friends, something his parents had not allowed before.
(d) He said no to a frosted cake and ice cream.

4. Why is the principal confused about Gogol's name?
(a) She can't figure out how to pronounce the unfamiliar name.
(b) She can't understand Ashoke's Indian accent.
(c) She doesn't understand about Indian pet names.
(d) The birth certificate and Gogol's father state different names for him.

5. What was Ashima's initial reaction to her first home in America?
(a) It was smaller than Ashoke had described.
(b) It was not at all what she had expected.
(c) She was delighted with the sunny, spacious rooms.
(d) She didn't like the neighbors.

6. What difference does Ashima notice in her days before and after Gogol's birth?
(a) Now friends stop by at all hours to see Gogol.
(b) Now she isn't the center of attention when Ashoke is home.
(c) Now she can't seem to organize her days.
(d) Now she has something to occupy her time.

7. How many people come to Sonia's rice ceremony when she's six months old?
(a) The whole neighborhood, including their American friends.
(b) Just a handful but they are good friends of the family.
(c) Practically none because they have few Indian neighbors.
(d) So many that the Gangulis rent a building on campus.

8. What did Ashima do upon first meeting Ashoke when he visited her family home in India?
(a) She asked him about his travels, especially about America.
(b) She said she didn't want to meet anyone from America.
(c) She changed into her most beautiful sari before meeting him.
(d) She impulsively stepped into the strange American shoes at the door.

9. After Gogol gives his reasons for changing his name, how do his parents respond?
(a) They tell him in America anything is possible and to do as he wishes.
(b) They agree that the name Gogol only causes problems.
(c) They feel even more insulted on behalf of Indians everywhere.
(d) They are afraid that Gogol is drifting farther and farther from them.

10. What concerns Ashima about Sonia as she grows up?
(a) She fears she'll forget her Indian heritage.
(b) She hates the clothes she wears.
(c) She fears she'll color a streak in her hair.
(d) She has no real concerns, she's pleased with her daughter.

11. Why is Ashima embarrassed to wear a hospital gown?
(a) It's ugly.
(b) The back is open.
(c) It only comes to her knees.
(d) She hates white.

12. What two kinds of names do children in India usually receive?
(a) Formal names and informal names.
(b) Pet names and good names.
(c) Family names and nicknames.
(d) Names to be spoken and names never to be said out loud.

13. What does Ashima do with most of the gifts Gogol gets at his second birthday party?
(a) The stores them in their original boxes for future use.
(b) She sets them aside for regifting.
(c) She finds places for them in Gogol's crowded room.
(d) She returns those that are duplicates for gift certificates.

14. What does Ashoke do while pacing in the mens' waiting room at the hospital?
(a) He carries flowers he has bought for Ashima.
(b) He drags his fingers through his hair.
(c) He tries to calm down the other expectant fathers.
(d) He reads the Globe.

15. What does Gogol hate about explaining his name to people?
(a) That his parents didn't have a name ready when he was born.
(b) That it's not Indian and is absurd and obscure.
(c) How to pronounce it correctly.
(d) That many people in India have pet names when children.

Short Answer Questions

1. After the train wreck, what did Ashoke do which he believes saved his life?

2. Where do women in India go to have babies?

3. What does Gogol's father give him on his fourteenth birthday?

4. Why does Gogol tell the judge he's changing his name?

5. What does Gogol decide to do a few weeks after moving away from his family and starting college?

(see the answer keys)

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