View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why do Arn and his siblings live with their aunt?
(a) Because their mother was overcome with grief after their father died and said she had to leave the family.
(b) Because their mother is dead.
(c) Because their aunt is rich and can take better care of a large family than their mother can.
(d) Because after their father's death, their mother had to go far away to find work.

2. Where do Arn and Munny go after the American movie to play a pretend game of war?
(a) The soccer field.
(b) The town square.
(c) The mango grove.
(d) The park.

3. How do the Khmer Rouge trick the government soldiers into assembling together at the airport so that they can be killed more efficiently?
(a) They tell them that they will each be given a large sum of money if they go to the airport to help fix the runways.
(b) They tell them that the prince has just arrived at the airport and that they should come welcome him back home.
(c) They tell them that a large supply of food has just been flown in by the Americans.
(d) They tell them that their families are in danger but that they cannot tell them why until they all congregate together for a meeting.

4. After asking Sombo many times why he is permissive with Arn and overlooks his breaking of the rules, Sombo reveals the reason. What does he say is the reason?
(a) He says that he hates what the Khmer Rouge make him do to punish children who break the rules, so he tries not to turn them in if he can help it.
(b) He says that he knew Arn's father before he was killed and that he feels a responsibility to take care of Arn.
(c) He says that he has a special affinity for Arn because of his musical talent.
(d) He says that he was an orphan who was forced to steal in order to survive as well.

5. What do the rich kids do to Arn when he is selling his wares near the school?
(a) They spit on him.
(b) They run to buy his wares.
(c) They throw stones at him.
(d) They push over his cart in the gutter.

6. What is the stringed instrument called that Arn learns to play in the band?
(a) Harpsichord.
(b) Viola.
(c) Khim.
(d) Dulcimer.

7. What method does Mek, the new music teacher, tell Arn that he uses to survive?
(a) He watches the birds fly.
(b) He dreams.
(c) He thinks about one hour at a time.
(d) He composes music.

8. In order to add to his fame even more and thus add to his probability of survival, Arn adds what talent to his repertoire in addition to his playing of the khim?
(a) Playing the fiddle.
(b) Acting out theater scenes.
(c) Storytelling.
(d) Dancing.

9. What event causes Arn to sneak out and plead with the new music teacher to start exerting effort in his teaching?
(a) Arn has taken a genuine interest in the musical arts and wants to do anything he can to fuel his new passion.
(b) A Khmer Rouge guard asks Arn how the band is progressing and whether the new music teacher has a good or a bad character.
(c) Arn knows that the new music teacher is a friend of his mother's and so he wants to preserve the teacher's life.
(d) Arn realizes that though he can play and teach all of the instruments to the other children, he wants a father figure to be their leader.

10. Why does Arn at first hesitate to volunteer when a high-ranking Khmer Rouge soldier asks who wants to play music in a band within the camp?
(a) He has never played an instrument and is scared that he will not be good at playing music.
(b) He is told that the band will play for the glory of Angka, which goes against his religious beliefs.
(c) He thinks that the other children in the band will not take the task seriously and that therefore they will all be punished or even killed.
(d) He is afraid that the question is a trick to suss out children who may have taken music lessons and should therefore be killed for their elitist status.

11. What event precipitates the band members being fed real rice and being forced to practice their music all night long?
(a) A performance for the Vietnamese soldiers.
(b) A traveling performance for all the people who have resettled in their home villages since the evacuation.
(c) A performance for the American soldiers.
(d) A performance at a large meeting for all of the highest-ranking Khmer Rouge leaders.

12. What occurs in the American movie that causes Arn and Munny to hide their faces in their shirts?
(a) Displays of wealth like shiny new cars.
(b) Kissing.
(c) Bloody battle scenes.
(d) A villain looking into the camera.

13. From where does Chantou send Arn a letter?
(a) From her adoptive parents' home in America.
(b) From a mountain camp.
(c) From an opera house in Thailand.
(d) From their home village.

14. What sport do the rich kids play in the yard of their school in the first part of the book?
(a) Soccer.
(b) Basketball.
(c) Lacrosse.
(d) Volleyball.

15. What does Arn say that convinces the new music teacher to make more of an effort to teach the children?
(a) Arn tells him that soon the band will become famous across the country if he does.
(b) Arn tells him that the music is crucial to keeping up the morale of the field workers.
(c) Arn tells him that every child in the band will be killed if he does not.
(d) Arn tells him that he'll be killed if he does not.

Short Answer Questions

1. Sophea brings news that someone in Arn's family has died while calling out for him. Who is it?

2. What does the new music teacher give Arn as the reason that he does not care whether he lives or dies?

3. When Sophea shows up at the camp, what reason does she give for their aunt sending her to look for Arn?

4. The morning just before the Khmer Rouge drive through the village making announcements on their bullhorns, what sounds are noticeably absent?

5. What happens to the first guard to make Sombo come to replace him?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,223 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample