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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. What is Ryan's reaction when the Governor's School principal phones to tell him he as been accepted?

3. What instrument does Zeger say Ryan has to make his voice more like?

4. In what year did Marian Anderson sing at the Met for the first time?

5. Which black female singer performed operatic selections at Carnegie Hall in the 1890s?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does winning the Met's competition for young singers mean for a young singer's career?

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

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

4. In Chapter 11, how does Ryan's budding relationship with the red-headed soprano work out?

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

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

7. What surprises Noda about Ryan's level of skill when he first starts working with Ryan?

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

9. What kind of influence does Mr. Brown have on Ryan during his time teaching him?

10. In Chapter 13, why is Ryan afraid he may become like the singer Terrence Coleman?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay analyzing how Ryan's relationship with his brother Adrian changed from childhood, through adolescence, and into adulthood. Make sure to cite specific examples from the text in your answer.

Essay Topic 2

As he is preparing for the second round of the Met's competition for young singers, Ryan encounters many technical challenges and setbacks in refining and enriching his operatic skills. Write an essay analyzing how Ryan chooses to deal with these challenges and his feelings of frustration as he carries out the hard work involved in cultivating his craft.

Essay Topic 3

Ryan's mother, Valerie, was offered the opportunity for a promising career in the military, but this did not come to fruition. Write an essay analyzing how Valerie's life took some turns toward the worst and how her life's path affected Ryan.

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