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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. Six-year-old named Alice came in a month after Beth and is adopted when?

2. What is the name of the orphanage in which Beth is placed?

3. What is the man's response when Beth says she wants to be put in the Open in her first chess tournament?

4. How does Jolene gain access to green pills?

5. What does Mrs. Deardorff threaten if the children do not to eat every bite?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What are three things that Beth learns from taking part in her first chess tournament?

3. How does Beth‘s life at the home improve at the end of Chapter 2?

4. How does the reader first learn about Beth’s appearance? How does she describe herself?

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

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

7. What do both Mr. Shaibel and Mr. Ganz think of Beth? Why?

8. Why does Beth attempt to steal pills from the pharmacy?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Sexuality is introduced early on in the book. How does Beth learn about sex and sexual acts? What is her reaction to this? How is she affected by this? Why might the author have chosen to do this? How does it affect you as the reader?

Essay Topic 2

The book ends with Beth asking an old man to play chess with her at a park. How does this reflect the answer that she and the other young prodigy gave when asked what they would do after chess? How does this ending also bring the story back around to Beth‘s chess playing beginning?

Essay Topic 3

Beth’s life changes quite a bit when she is adopted in Chapter Three. Why might this odd couple have chosen to adopt Beth? How does she feel about adoption? What might be her favorite thing about adoption? What does this reveal about Beth?

(see the answer keys)

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