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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What kind of horses did Chato once ride when he works at the white man's ranch?
(a) Mares.
(b) Stallions.
(c) Thoroughbreds.
(d) Quarter horses.

2. As they sit down behind the boulders, what does Ayah offer Chato?
(a) Half her blanket.
(b) Her forgiveness.
(c) A bit of something to eat.
(d) Her shoes.

3. Outside of the place where Ayah and Chato live, what is the condition of the land?
(a) Moist.
(b) Dry and sandy.
(c) Rich.
(d) Fertile.

4. To Ayah, the clouds are like what?
(a) Ghosts.
(b) Horses.
(c) Slugs.
(d) People.

5. How does Ayah describe the freezing?
(a) A mist flowing over the mesa.
(b) A stillness coming from the edge of the moon.
(c) Wind blowing from the east.
(d) Snow fallling from the sky.

6. Why does Ayah hope the government money and the wine are gone?
(a) Chato is angry.
(b) She and Chato could finally go home.
(c) She doesn't have to worry about it.
(d) Chato is happy.

7. After Chato's return with the brown box, what does he do the first of every month?
(a) Visit his sister's.
(b) Eat peaches.
(c) Goes to Cebolleta.
(d) Go to the welfare office.

8. Where is Chato's sister?
(a) She's been gone a long time.
(b) She lives in a city.
(c) She lives with them.
(d) She lives on a ranch.

9. According to Ayah, what does she and Chato not have enough of for five years?
(a) Rain.
(b) Love.
(c) Money.
(d) Food.

10. According to Ayah, what streams white mist in the sky's distance during the storm?
(a) Manes of great lions.
(b) Smoke of giant pipes.
(c) Tails of great mules.
(d) Tail hairs of great horses.

11. What does Ayah think she does to make the men in the bar fear her?
(a) Her face or the way she clenches her teeth.
(b) Being Navajo.
(c) Being an old woman.
(d) Her attitude.

12. How would Ayah feel if Chato used up the government money?
(a) Unhappy.
(b) Relieved.
(c) Sad.
(d) Restless.

13. According to Ayah, Chato is doing what a lot lately?
(a) Shouting.
(b) Disappearing.
(c) Drinking.
(d) Forgetting.

14. Why does Ayah go searching in the winter night?
(a) Because she has no choice.
(b) Because she has the blanket.
(c) Because it is the Navajo way.
(d) Because she needs to find someone.

15. What does Silko use as a metaphor for the days Ayah and Chato lived together?
(a) Shadows on the mesa.
(b) Dirt in the arroyos.
(c) Painted sheep on hogan walls.
(d) Painted buffalo on cave walls.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Ayah notice about the way Chato smells in the fourth section of the story?

2. Why does Ayah choose to stop walking at the end of the story?

3. Why is the old barn symbolic of the relationship between the whites and Navajos?

4. What helps protect Ayah and Chato from the wind?

5. What is special about Ayah's and Chato's home?

(see the answer keys)

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