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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who is Rahma?
(a) An eccentric man.
(b) A doctor.
(c) A wealthy banker.
(d) An eccentric woman.

2. How did Zahra's family make money?
(a) Banking.
(b) Oil.
(c) Making bread.
(d) Growing orchards.

3. What crisis did Morocco face in the mid 1950s?
(a) Water.
(b) Poverty.
(c) War.
(d) Educational.

4. Who moves to Casablanca with Zahra?
(a) Her husband.
(b) Her brother.
(c) Her sister.
(d) Her friend.

5. What limb did Faqih loose in Vietnam?
(a) A foot.
(b) A toe.
(c) An arm.
(d) A leg.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is a faqih?

2. Where does Zahra go at the start of Chapter 3?

3. Who does Zahra visit in Chapter 3 to air her frustration?

4. How does Zahra feel at the start of this story?

5. Who was born in the Year of the Elephant ?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Zahra decide to make a living and who taught her this skill?

2. Why does Faqih dislike the French?

3. What was Zahra's experience at Al-Adir?

4. Why does the author of the introduction claim that "Year of the Elephant" is "an event in cross-cultural literary history"?

5. What was Zahra's experience in Chapter 2 like while living in Casablanca?

6. What did Zahra describe as an oasis and desert and why?

7. What happens to Zahra's husband in Chapter 4? How does she find out?

8. Why does Zahra go to the post office in Chapter 3?

9. What did Zahra's parents do for a living and why was it dangerous?

10. Describe Abou Zayd's childhood and how it affected her writing.

(see the answer keys)

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