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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) Danger Mouse, for his penchant for danger.
(c) Sylvester the Cat, due to his severe speech impediment.
(d) Buggs Bunny, because of his buck teeth and sense of humor.

2. How did the author make money when he first graduated from high school?
(a) He became a waiter.
(b) He became a minibus driver.
(c) He became a professional stand up comedian.
(d) He became a professional DJ.

3. What did the author and Mayelene have in common?
(a) They lived in the same house together.
(b) They both had crushes on a white boy named Lorenzo.
(c) They both hated the entire idea of Valentine's Day.
(d) They both had a mix of white and black ancestry.

4. What happened after the author asked Maylene out during their walk home together?
(a) Maylene ran away.
(b) They kissed outside a McDonalds.
(c) Maylene perished suddenly and tragically.
(d) Maylene mocked him.

5. Why did the author play alone under the Mulberry tree when he was in Eden Park?
(a) He did not have any friends.
(b) He planned to poison the Mulberry tree and did not want any witnesses.
(c) He was not used to the time difference in Eden Park and was outside playing while everyone else was sleeping.
(d) He did not like to play with others.

6. Why was the author allowed to bond with the more popular boys during grade 9?
(a) He could make them laugh.
(b) He was so good with women that the popular boys kept him around for advice.
(c) He was poor so the popular boys hung out with him out of pity.
(d) He was so ugly that he made them look better.

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

8. What did the author discover in a stolen object, causing him to rethink his life of crime as described in the story "The Cheese Boys"?
(a) He discovered a young woman's diary in a stolen suitcase.
(b) He discovered drugs in a child's fanny pack.
(c) He discovered a dead person's ashes in a stolen vase.
(d) He discovered family pictures in a digital camera.

9. How did poverty make it harder for the author to dress attractively during grade 9?
(a) His mother bought him extra-baggy clothing so he would not outgrow it too quickly.
(b) At the time, you needed to pay for a special license to wear nice clothes in South Africa.
(c) The school had special, unsightly uniforms for children who could not afford their own.
(d) He had plenty of money but he did not want to make his poorer classmates jealous so he wore cheap clothes to make them feel better.

10. What did the girls in the author's grade want him to do for Valentine's Day?
(a) They wanted him to make them all valentines.
(b) They wanted him to dress as cupid.
(c) They wanted him to teach their boyfriends to dance.
(d) They wanted the author to ask out his friend, Maylene.

11. According to the author, what did crime do that the government would not do in Alexandra, South Africa?
(a) Crime scared the community.
(b) Crime cared for the community.
(c) Crime confused the community.
(d) Crime hurt the community.

12. What physical condition does the author claim made him less attractive during grade 9?
(a) He suffered from temporary dwarfism.
(b) He had horrible acne.
(c) He did not know how to dance.
(d) He had an immune disorder and could not go do fun things.

13. What did Babiki refuse to do once she and the author arrived at the dance?
(a) Stop singing.
(b) Keep her shoes on.
(c) Leave the car.
(d) Kiss the author.

14. Why did the author have trouble fitting in with his colored classmates at Sandingham?
(a) They would bully him for being too black.
(b) They spent all their free time doing expensive things.
(c) They would bully him for being too white.
(d) They all lived far away.

15. With whom did Patricia Nombuyiselo Noah want the author to hang out instead of his friends from Alexandra?
(a) His cousin at university.
(b) His birth father in Johannesburg.
(c) His step-father in the garage.
(d) His grandmother in Soweto.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why did the author have trouble making friends in Highlands North?

2. To whom does the author refer when he talks about "domestics" in the story "Colorblind"?

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

4. What crime did the author and Teddy get caught committing?

5. Why did students come out of the dance to look at Babiki?

(see the answer keys)

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