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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How old is Gumsto when he first appears in the novel?
(a) Fifteen.
(b) Eighty.
(c) Twenty.
(d) Forty-three.

2. What outcast from the Langeni does Nxumalo meet once he leaves his own tribe?
(a) Shaka.
(b) Nandi.
(c) Mpepha.
(d) Mqalane.

3. At the beginning of Chapter One, what has caused the water of the lake to become brackish?
(a) An overgrowth of algae.
(b) A drought.
(c) A gold vein underneath the lake.
(d) Pollution by Dutch settlers.

4. In what do Kharu and the other women carry water when the tribe moves?
(a) Rhinoceros horns.
(b) Clay bowls and pitchers.
(c) Gourds.
(d) Ostrich eggs.

5. What is Gao more skilled at than he is at hunting?
(a) Catching fish.
(b) Farming.
(c) Painting.
(d) Weaving cloth.

6. Why does Gumsto feel entitled to take the seventeen-year-old widow Naoka as his wife?
(a) He's the leader of the clan.
(b) Naoka's father promises her to him to repay a debt.
(c) He's the richest man in the clan.
(d) He's the handsomest man in the clan.

7. What work does the Old Seeker tell Nxumalo he must do upon reaching Zimbabwe?
(a) Become a carpenter.
(b) Become a scribe.
(c) Build the wall around the city.
(d) Farm.

8. Why does Nxumalo leave his tribe, the Sixolobo?
(a) He fears he will be executed like his father.
(b) He wants to see the great city of Zimbabwe.
(c) He has been disgraced in battle and his pride is wounded.
(d) He has been rejected by a woman and has a broken heart.

9. For what purpose are the small San people enslaved and used by the people of Zimbabwe?
(a) To build the city's temples.
(b) To perform domestic tasks like cooking.
(c) To work the gold mines.
(d) To work in the barley fields.

10. What three European nations battle for control of Malacca in Chapter Three?
(a) Portugal, Holland, and England.
(b) England, Holland, and France.
(c) Portugal, Italy, and Holland.
(d) England, Germany, and Spain.

11. Who does Hilary Saltwood marry?
(a) Katje Van Doorn.
(b) Henrietta Madison.
(c) Louisa Kennedy.
(d) A slave girl named Emma.

12. What tree do the burghers plant around the Dutch colony to protect their cattle and keep out the rest of Africa?
(a) A bitter almond tree.
(b) An oak tree.
(c) An elm tree.
(d) A maple tree.

13. To what religion does Prince Henry of Portugal wish to convert Africa?
(a) Hinduism.
(b) Buddhism.
(c) Islam.
(d) Christianity.

14. From what disease does Paul de Prè die?
(a) Cancer.
(b) Smallpox.
(c) Tuberculosis.
(d) Pneumonia.

15. What do Adriaan and Seena Van Doorn help Dr. Nels Linnart collect?
(a) Insects.
(b) Plants and flowers.
(c) Seashells.
(d) Butterflies.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is Prince Henry of Portugal's nickname?

2. Which Van Doorn befriends the slave Dikkop in Chapter Five?

3. Where does Captain Nicholas Saltwood build his English estate?

4. What is Kharu's role in the tribe?

5. Who does Nxumalo work with to eliminate Shaka?

(see the answer keys)

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