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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. What Oaxacan food did the two men Morales and Cantu picked up on page 50 offer to Cantu?

2. Who climbed to a peak south of the international boundary line in 1706 and realized California was connected to Mexico?

3. Why do Border Patrol agents destroy migrants' belongings they find in the desert?

4. Who did Cantu's mother name him after?

5. What does Cantu's mother tell him is her impression of the Border Patrol agency?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do some of the agents at the Border Patrol station call Cole "Black Death"?

2. What do Morales and Cantu see in the night sky that leaves an impression on them during one of their patrols together?

3. How did the two young sisters who were brought in to the Border Patrol station alone react to their processing and questioning?

4. Why did Hart's roommate, Dominguez, quit the Border Patrol training?

5. Why is Cantu so nervous when he comes home from work late one night to see a man lurking in the dark on his street?

6. What does the dentist who works on Cantu's mouth surmise about his problem grinding his teeth?

7. What do Cantu and his mother always do as a tradition on Christmas Eve together?

8. What is Cantu's impression of the people and atmosphere in Cuidad Juarez when the book opens?

9. Why does Cantu want to see his classmate Santiago graduate the most out of all his classmates in Border Patrol Training?

10. How does Mortenson treat Cantu when they first meet on the job?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What does Cantu's discussion about the rampant femicide in Mexico reveal about the culture in that country, and how does it help to explain some of the reasons for the increase in immigrants trying to cross the Mexican/U.S. border illegally? Write an essay explaining your answer, citing specific references to the text to support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

When Cantu is transferred to a desk job in intelligence at the Border Patrol Office in Tucson, Arizona, he has a difficult time adjusting to the work. Write an essay analyzing Cantu's feelings about the change in his job duties and why it is so difficult for him to transfer from field work to desk work.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay analyzing how Cantu connects Mexico's history of wars, other conflicts, violence, and suffering (the idea of the so-called "100-year cycles) to the modern-day problems at the country's border with the United States.

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