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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. When the priest claims to have been "defiled by contact," what does Bakha assume (51)?
(a) His sister must have touched the priest.
(b) The priest is lying.
(c) He must have touched the priest on his way past him.
(d) There must be a third, as yet unseen, outcaste nearby.

2. What are the "jalebis" that Bakha buys in the market?
(a) A type of Indian ice cream.
(b) A European-style hard candy.
(c) A flatbread layered with nuts and dried fruits.
(d) A syrup-soaked fried dough.

3. What does Bakha buy from the betel-leaf shop?
(a) Medicine.
(b) Matches.
(c) Cigarettes.
(d) Tea.

4. What gesture does Bakha continuously make in order to try to placate the man that he has bumped on the street?
(a) He bows to the man over and over.
(b) He kneels in the street.
(c) He covers his eyes with his hands.
(d) He joins his hands prayerfully.

5. After he is finally free of the crowd in the street, what does Bakha suddenly realize is at the root of all of his problems?
(a) His lack of education.
(b) His father.
(c) His status as an "untouchable."
(d) His lack of religious knowledge.

6. What does the term "Jemandar" mean (3)?
(a) A state of ritual impurity.
(b) It is a term of respect for someone of a higher caste.
(c) Foreman, leader of a crew of workers.
(d) To argue a point just for the fun of argument.

7. What finally rouses Bakha from his bed at the beginning of the book?
(a) A man complaining about the dirty latrines.
(b) His father's constant stream of verbal abuse.
(c) Concern about where his brother has gone.
(d) Thoughts of the importance of duty and hard work.

8. What does Bakha do when he is finally at the top of the temple steps?
(a) Balances on his toes and looks through a window.
(b) Sneaks quietly inside the temple.
(c) Lies down and peers under the door.
(d) Stands at the edge where he can see through a crack in the wall.

9. What is the image in the model temple at the base of the banyan tree?
(a) A snake.
(b) An elephant.
(c) A monkey.
(d) A tiger.

10. Where did Bakha get his British jacket and overcoat?
(a) They were prizes he won for playing hockey.
(b) They were a gift from his uncle.
(c) He bought them with his tip money.
(d) He found them in a rubbish bin.

11. On page 6, what do the outcaste boys start calling Bakha after he starts wearing British clothing?
(a) "Bakha-Britain."
(b) "O bey brother-in-law."
(c) "Sergeant Sweeper."
(d) "Imitation sahib."

12. What is a "sepoy" (5)?
(a) An Indian soldier.
(b) A town official.
(c) A temple priest.
(d) A rag-seller.

13. Why does Bakha not feel sad about his mother's death?
(a) She was a part of a more old-fashioned world than the one he wants to live in.
(b) She was even more cruelly abusive than his father.
(c) He knows that her life was miserable, and he is glad she is free of her suffering.
(d) He was so young when she died that he barely remembers her.

14. What is "Waris Shah's Hir and Ranjah," which Bakha longs to read?
(a) A epic poem.
(b) An adventure novel.
(c) A book of history.
(d) A political treatise.

15. Why does Bahka not immediately apologize when he is accused of bumping the man in the street?
(a) He is paralyzed with fear.
(b) He does not think he really bumped the man.
(c) He thinks the idea of ritual pollution is ridiculous.
(d) He does not hear what the man is saying, at first.

Short Answer Questions

1. On page 28, what does the narrator say prevails in the lives of the outcastes?

2. What motivates the babu's son to agree to give Bakha lessons?

3. Besides his hockey skills and sense of humor, what is Havildar Charat Singh well-known for?

4. What is Bakha's first response when he hears the priest cry out "Polluted, polluted, polluted" (50)?

5. What is the priest's real motivation in serving Sohini first?

(see the answer keys)

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