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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. Where did Mr. Brown take Ryan to buy clothes sometimes?
(a) Lord and Taylor.
(b) Nordstrom's.
(c) Walmart.
(d) Kmart.

2. Which black female singer performed operatic selections at Carnegie Hall in the 1890s?
(a) Sissieretta Jones.
(b) Kathleen Battle.
(c) Denyce Graves.
(d) Marian Anderson.

3. Who is the contemporary black male opera singer Bernger interviews who says being black is a disadvantage when working in opera?
(a) Philippe Sly.
(b) Eric Owens.
(c) Paul Robeson.
(d) James Brown.

4. Which of the following songs does Ryan sing for his audition for the Virginia Governor's School for the Arts?
(a) My Country Tis of Thee.
(b) Ol' Man River.
(c) The Star-Spangled Banner.
(d) Don Giovanni.

5. Which composer's work does Ken Noda suggest Ryan try singing in Chapter 15?
(a) Verdi.
(b) Puccini.
(c) Mahler.
(d) Mozart.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is the singer Ryan is afraid of being compared to in Chapter 13?

2. What does Greg, Ryan's half-brother, tell him about Cecil?

3. Why does Ryan's voice teacher give up his own singing career?

4. Which teacher at Governor's School takes Ryan under his wing and helps turn him into a very good singer?

5. Who is the legendary conductor at the Met who is involved in selecting singers for the Met's special training program?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Ryan like spending time at his friend Jared Poulter's house in high school?

2. Why does it bother Ryan so much when people ask him to sing the song Ol' Man River?

3. Why did the famous opera singer Marian Anderson perform a concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1939?

4. Why does Ryan's brother Adrian leave home?

5. What does Noda say is the greatest part of Ryan's appeal as a singer?

6. In Chapter 13, what does Ken Noda tell Ryan about how he will be judged as a singer because of his race?

7. How does Gayletha Nichols describes Ryan's appeal to other people in Chapter 14?

8. Why does Mr. Brown experience conflicted feelings about religion?

9. What do Ryan's music teachers at the Governor's School think of his voice when they first hear him sing?

10. Why does Ryan join the Latin club and deliberately start making friends with white students in school when he is released from the juvenile detention center?

(see the answer keys)

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