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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How is Uncle Chico different from Tata and Don Julio?
(a) Chico is on welfare.
(b) Chico drinks all day long, not just in the afternoon.
(c) Chico refuses to use profanity.
(d) Chico smokes more heavily.

2. Which other family member lives with Tata?
(a) Don Julio.
(b) Uncle Chico.
(c) Abuela.
(d) Titi Generosa.

3. According to Esmeralda, why couldn't Papi live in a place like El Mangle?
(a) Papi's nose is sensitive to bad smells.
(b) Papi is not allowed to travel.
(c) Papi has too much pride.
(d) Papi cannot find work in places like El Mange.

4. What game do the children play in the house to make Titi Avena miserable?
(a) Spaniards and Caribs.
(b) Stickball.
(c) Hide-and-seek.
(d) Soccer.

5. Mami threatens the children that if they repeat the obscenities they hear, which of the following will happen?
(a) The child will get a severe spanking.
(b) The child will be sent to live with Tata.
(c) The child will not go to heaven.
(d) The child will get a mouthful of hot peppers.

6. What do the boys do in the streets near Esmeralda's home in "Casi Senorita"?
(a) Wage gang warfare.
(b) Play soccer.
(c) Play stickball.
(d) Fight playfully.

7. What kind of math problem is Esmeralda called to the board to solve?
(a) Addition of fractions.
(b) Subtraction of decimals.
(c) Addition of percents.
(d) Multiplication.

8. Why does Esmeralda wear her special white dress in "El Mangle"?
(a) Esmeralda must impress Mami's employer.
(b) Esmeralda is baptized.
(c) Esmeralda participates in funeral rites.
(d) Esmeralda goes to a school function.

9. Why do Esmeralda and the children stay cooped up inside now that they live in Brooklyn?
(a) The children have too much homework to play outside.
(b) Mami doesn't trust that they will not get lost.
(c) The neighborhood is full of gente mala.
(d) It is too cold to go outside.

10. Who finds Esmeralda's family a cab from the airport?
(a) Don Luis.
(b) Tata.
(c) Raymond.
(d) Don Julio.

11. Where does the family live in "Dreams of a Better Life"?
(a) Macun.
(b) San Juan.
(c) Sabana Seca.
(d) Santurce.

12. Why does Esmeralda's piano teacher slap her hands during her first lesson?
(a) Esmeralda plays the piano like a conga drum.
(b) Esmeralda is a slow learner.
(c) Esmeralda is disrespectful of his authority.
(d) Esmeralda is daydreaming.

13. What does Esmeralda do to make life in El Mangle more pleasant?
(a) Esmeralda buries her sorrows in school work.
(b) Esmeralda sneaks home.
(c) Esmeralda draws pictures of nature.
(d) Esmeralda makes lots of new friends.

14. What does Tata's breath smell like?
(a) Bile.
(b) Cigarettes and beer.
(c) Oregano.
(d) Coffee.

15. What is in the bags Mami carries off the plane?
(a) Letters from home.
(b) Produce and spices from el pais.
(c) Clothes for the children.
(d) Books for family members.

Short Answer Questions

1. How old is Raymond in "Letters from New York"?

2. What didn't Esmeralda mean to steal from the baby's piggy bank?

3. How many of their vocabulary words must the children use in to write their essays in "El Mangle"?

4. Why does Tata drink beer?

5. What does Francisco tell Mami before he dies?

(see the answer keys)

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