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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What do Robert and the journalist want to know when they stop by to visit Mr. Salgado?
(a) How quickly the reef is deteriorating.
(b) How the coastal village lifestyle is changing due to sea erosion.
(c) How the project to convert the ocean's energy into electricity is coming along.
(d) How much it costs to build a protective seawall.

2. Who carves the turkey during the Christmas Eve dinner?
(a) Triton.
(b) Mr. Salgado.
(c) Miss Nili.
(d) Lucy-amma.

3. After their near accident on the drive to the observatory, Mr. Salgado, his friend, and Triton stop by a temple for what?
(a) To pray at the travelers' shrine.
(b) To put money in a roadside blessing box.
(c) To purchase water and a box lunch for each of them.
(d) To have a picnic lunch by the temple pond.

4. Where do the Christmas Eve dinner guests retire to while Triton clears the table?
(a) Garden to enjoy some fresh air.
(b) Game room to play a board game.
(c) Lounge to watch television.
(d) Sitting room for coffee.

5. On the morning of the poker party, Nili is in a bad mood and won't ___.
(a) Leave her room.
(b) Eat.
(c) Talk.
(d) Get out of bed.

Short Answer Questions

1. When the men at the poker party call to Triton to bring more beer, what does he do?

2. What does Miss Nili do a few days after the Christmas Eve party?

3. Who is Wijetunga?

4. What does Triton find inside the cookbook he receives?

5. As Triton closes up the main house following the Christmas Eve dinner, who does he find together on the sofa?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is Triton's name a fitting choice in light of the story's theme and setting?

2. How does the personal transformation of Wijetunga, Mr. Salgado's work assistant, reflect the transformation taking place in Sri Lanka?

3. Describe the tension that exists between Mr. Salgado and the journalist who comes to ask him questions about sea erosion.

4. Who is Nili?

5. When his friend, Mr. Dias Liyanage, offers Mr. Salgado a job with a foundation interested in the coral business, why is Mr. Salgado reluctant to take this job?

6. Problems start to appear in the relationship between Miss Nili and Mr. Salgado, and she's in a very bad mood right before a poker party. What does she do during the party, and how does Mr. Salgado react?

7. Describe Triton's experience at the Christmas Eve dinner.

8. How does Triton prepare for Nili's move to Mr. Salgado's house?

9. How does the relationship between Mr. Salgado and Miss Nili change after the Christmas Eve party?

10. Describe Nili's reaction when she accompanies Triton to the fish market.

(see the answer keys)

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