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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why did the police officer help the author secure legal counsel?

2. What does the Afrikans term "amperbaas," used to refer to the status of colored people under apartheid, mean?

3. How did Zaheera feel about the author?

4. Why did the author have trouble fitting in with his black classmates at Sandingham?

5. What happened after the author asked Maylene out during their walk home together?

Short Essay Questions

1. What conclusion did the author draw after his encounter with the police at the end of the story "The Cheese Boys"?

2. Why did the girls in the author's grade at H. A. Jack Primary think that he and Maylene would be perfect for each other?

3. How does the author describe the relationship between regular people and criminals in Alexandra?

4. What niche did the author find at Sandingham high school during lunch time?

5. Why did the author feel regret regarding his friend Zaheera?

6. What did Patricia tell the security guard to do when he reported the author for shop-lifting at the age of ten?

7. Why does the author believe that regret is the thing that we should fear most?

8. How does the author explain the abundance of South Africans with names for controversial historical figures like "Napoleon," "Mussolini," and "Hitler"?

9. How does the author explain Patricia's ability to buy a house in Highlands North?

10. Why did Abel initially agree to loan the author his BMW?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

According to the collection "Born a Crime," many languages are spoken in South Africa and Trevor Noah benefitted from knowing several of them growing up. Write an essay explaining the role that language plays in both creating and resolving conflicts through one or more stories in the collection.

Essay Topic 2

Many cities are described within the collection "Born a Crime." Write an essay analyzing the author's descriptions of at least two cities. In your analysis, explain what the author's descriptions reveal about the economic and social conditions the two cities face and how these conditions manifested as features of the author's life.

Essay Topic 3

According to the collection "Born a Crime," crime was a significant component of Trevor Noah's life. Write an essay analyzing the role that crime played in guiding the author's identity and what self-realizations crime led him to.

(see the answer keys)

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