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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. The narrator and her best friend ______________________.
(a) Take piano lessons.
(b) Swim in the sea.
(c) Ride bikes together.
(d) Do everything together.

2. One day, the narrator smells ________________ in the apartment.
(a) Perfume.
(b) Smoke.
(c) Cabbage.
(d) Cinnamon.

3. What candy do the two friends like to eat?
(a) Peanut butter cups.
(b) Smiling Cow toffees.
(c) Gummy bears.
(d) Red licorice.

4. What does the soldier carry onto the bus?
(a) A dog.
(b) A Bible.
(c) A set of golf clubs.
(d) A machete.

5. Why is the bus unable to leave as scheduled?
(a) There is engine trouble.
(b) The roads out of the city are blocked.
(c) The driver can't be found.
(d) The weather is too perilous.

Short Answer Questions

1. How many days does the narrator watch Selam's apartment building?

2. What is an emir?

3. How did Yusuf die?

4. What is the setting of the story?

5. Who is Yusuf?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Akpan choose second person narration for the story?

2. What is the narrator's father's advice to Selam regarding eating pork?

3. What is at the base of all the trivial conflicts in the story?

4. What does the narrator do during the days after being restricted from playing with Selam?

5. How do the narrator and Selam find a way to communicate with each other when they are not allowed to play together?

6. How does Jubril disguise his being a Muslim while on the bus?

7. What elements of Western life are uncomfortable for Jubril while on the bus?

8. How does Akpan's choice of second person narration affect the reader?

9. Who are the narrator and Selam and what is their relationship?

10. What is the main point of the story, "What Language is That"?

(see the answer keys)

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