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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What cartoon character's name did Patricia use to refer to Teddy?
(a) Mickey Mouse, because of his white face.
(b) Buggs Bunny, because of his buck teeth and sense of humor.
(c) Danger Mouse, for his penchant for danger.
(d) Sylvester the Cat, due to his severe speech impediment.

2. Why would people in Alexandra sometimes clasp their wrists together?
(a) To signal that they needed peace and quiet.
(b) To begin a yoga session.
(c) To ask what time it was.
(d) To indicate that someone had been arrested.

3. Why could the author not ask Maylene out right away for Valentine's Day?
(a) He wanted to ask in the form of a poem and had trouble rhyming with "Maylene."
(b) He had to learn how to speak her native tongue.
(c) He was afraid of her boyfriend.
(d) He had to relay the message through her friends first.

4. What is the single official language of South Africa?
(a) There are 11 official languages in South Africa.
(b) Zulu.
(c) Afrikaans.
(d) South Africa has no official language.

5. According to the author, what did the name "Hitler" connote to black South Africans in the area and time where the author grew up?
(a) It connoted racial animosity.
(b) It connoted a deep lack of patriotism.
(c) It connoted a bawdy sense of humor.
(d) It connoted toughness.

6. What is a "cheese boy" in the vernacular of Alexandra, South Africa?
(a) A dairy farmer.
(b) A mascot for a beloved macaroni and cheese restaurant.
(c) Someone wealthy enough to afford cheese.
(d) A derogatory term for white people.

7. How did the author know Tom and Bongani?
(a) They were his brothers.
(b) They worked for him.
(c) They were his mentors at school.
(d) They were his principal's sons.

8. What happened before the author could ask Zaheera out?
(a) She was captured by Zulu extremists.
(b) She moved to America.
(c) The author was sentenced to work in the salt mines.
(d) She married her boyfriend, Gary.

9. How does the author describe his dating life when he was in grade 9 at Sandingham?
(a) He was seen as an attractive but dangerous bad boy.
(b) He had a new girlfriend or boyfriend every week.
(c) He was so skilled at seduction that other people came to him for advice.
(d) He was not considered popular or attractive.

10. What did the police ask the author when he was called in for questioning regarding the stolen chocolate?
(a) They asked whether he knew if Teddy had any white friends.
(b) They asked why he and Teddy stole the chocolates.
(c) They asked him to submit to a blood-alcohol test.
(d) They asked if he knew where Teddy had gone.

11. What does the author mean when he says that Babiki and her family were amabhujua?
(a) He means that they were poor but spent money on expensive luxuries.
(b) He means that they knew secret shamanic traditions.
(c) He means that they were partially descended from Europeans.
(d) He means that they were extremely skilled accountants.

12. According to the author, what racial group was notorious for having the most dangerous gangsters in South Africa?
(a) Colored people.
(b) Indian people.
(c) Black people.
(d) White people.

13. Why did students come out of the dance to look at Babiki?
(a) They had heard that she was beautiful.
(b) They had heard that she was hurt.
(c) They had heard that she looked just like Trinity from the Matrix.
(d) They had heard that she was deformed.

14. How did the security footage distort the author's appearance after he and Teddy stole from the store?
(a) It blurred out his face entirely.
(b) It made him look much fatter than he was in real life.
(c) It made his skin appear to be lighter.
(d) It created dark circles under his eyes that made him look menacing.

15. What did the teacher who unplugged the author's speakers assume about the author and his dance crew?
(a) She assumed that they were mocking the school's Jewish population.
(b) She assumed that they would be playing more pop ballads.
(c) She assumed that they had never heard of Adolf Hitler.
(d) She assumed that they would be more skilled dancers.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did the police officer want when he arrested the author and his friends at the end of the story "The Cheese Boys"?

2. What physical condition does the author claim made him less attractive during grade 9?

3. What convinced the author that it would be best to bide his time before revealing his crush?

4. What did the author and Mayelene have in common?

5. How did the author first respond in his trial when he thought the judge asked him how he was?

(see the answer keys)

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