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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who is Lucy-amma?
(a) The young girl next door.
(b) The local school teacher.
(c) The neighborhood matchmaker.
(d) The old cook-woman.

2. What about Mr. Salgado captivates young Triton when they first meet?
(a) His gentle voice.
(b) His unusual glasses.
(c) His colorful shirts.
(d) His ever-present smile.

3. What does Triton say when Mr. Salgado asks him if he has any schooling?
(a) He's been to school at the temple and is familiar with religious teachings.
(b) He's been to school, knows how to read and write, and speaks some English.
(c) He has some schooling but he does not like the teachers.
(d) He has no time for school because he's had to help raise his siblings.

4. When Mr. Salgado takes a weekend trip to his cousin's tea estate, who is left in charge of the household?
(a) Joseph.
(b) A neighbor.
(c) Lucy-amma.
(d) Triton.

5. Alone in the house, Triton falls asleep. When he is awakened by a sound, what does he think it is?
(a) Mr. Salgado returning.
(b) A robber.
(c) Stray cat.
(d) Wind knocking a window open.

6. In what language does the narrator try to speak to the cashier?
(a) Swahili.
(b) Swedish.
(c) Sinhala.
(d) Spanish.

7. What does the individual who approaches the cashier and narrator begin to do?
(a) Laughs out loud.
(b) Calls their names.
(c) Hammers at the window.
(d) Cries loudly.

8. How long has the cashier been out of Sri Lanka?
(a) Seven years ago.
(b) A decade.
(c) Fairly recently.
(d) A year and a half.

9. When the narrator and cashier meet, what is happening in Sri Lanka?
(a) War.
(b) Floods.
(c) Reconciliation.
(d) Invasion.

10. After the cashier shares information about himself with the narrator, what does he ask?
(a) If the narrator lives nearby.
(b) How the narrator likes London.
(c) If the narrator is married.
(d) Where the narrator went to school.

11. What is the cashier's immigration status?
(a) Naturalized citizen.
(b) Dual citizen.
(c) Illegal immigrant.
(d) Refugee.

12. In the story, who is Joseph?
(a) Singer.
(b) Chauffeur.
(c) Merchant.
(d) Servant.

13. When Mr. Salgado returns from his trip and finds Joseph first missing and later drunk, what does he do?
(a) Fires him.
(b) Asks Triton what happened.
(c) Gives him coffee.
(d) Punches him.

14. How long has the narrator been out of Sri Lanka?
(a) More than twenty years.
(b) Less than a month.
(c) Twelve years.
(d) Three years.

15. What does Mr. Salgado's house represent to Triton when he is a boy?
(a) A magical place to explore and enjoy.
(b) A beautiful prison.
(c) Home away from home.
(d) Center of the universe.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the word "kolla" mean in Sinhala?

2. How long is the gas station cashier on the job?

3. The cashier experiences technical difficulties with what?

4. At night, what does young Triton dream of?

5. The region of Sri Lanka that the cashier comes from is once what?

(see the answer keys)

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