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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 question that Jolene asks Beth, when she first meets her?

2. How many of Mr. Ganz’s students does Beth have to play?

3. What does Mrs. Deardorff think about Beth playing chess with the janitor?

4. How old is Beth at the start of Chapter 3?

5. Why are the children given tranquilizers?

Short Essay Questions

1. How was Beth able to beat all of Mr. Ganz’s chess students?

2. How is Beth able to get away for a length of time to play chess?

3. Where is Beth placed, initially, at her first chess tournament? Why?

4. What is Beth’s punishment for attempting to stealing green pills?

5. Why does Beth steal money from Mrs. Wheatley?

6. How do the majority of the players react to Beth’s chess skills at her first tournament?

7. What do most of the chess players at the tournament have in common?

8. What are all the children given at the orphanage in little paper cups? Why? How does Beth feel about this?

9. Why does Beth push past her fear of Mr. Shaibel?

10. What does Beth use to fall asleep at night? Why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In Chapter 8, when Beth plays the young prodigy and asks him what he will do once he is world champion. How will he spend the rest of his life? He looks at her puzzled. How would Beth have responded to this question if she had been asked when she was young? Why might Beth have asked this question? Might she also be asking herself this question? How does the struggle between Beth’s commitment to chess and life outside of chess show itself throughout the book?

Essay Topic 2

Addiction is a main idea in this book. How does the author first address it? How is Beth affected by her addictions? How does this reflect real, modern life?

Essay Topic 3

Beth has her first taste of beer in Chapter 6 and compares the sensation of being drunk to taking the tranquilizer pills. What does this need for drugs say about Beth? How does this reflect an addictive personality? What other aspects of her life also show she has an addictive personality?

(see the answer keys)

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