Question 1

How does the author describe his dating life when he was in grade 9 at Sandingham?

Accepted Answer

He was not considered popular or attractive.

Answer

He was seen as an attractive but dangerous bad boy.

Answer

He was so skilled at seduction that other people came to him for advice.

Answer

He had a new girlfriend or boyfriend every week.

Question 2

What physical condition does the author claim made him less attractive during grade 9?

Accepted Answer

He had horrible acne.

Answer

He suffered from temporary dwarfism.

Answer

He did not know how to dance

Answer

He had an immune disorder and could not go do fun things.

Question 3

How did poverty make it harder for the author to dress attractively during grade 9?

Accepted Answer

His mother bought him extra-baggy clothing so he would not outgrow it too quickly.

Answer

He had plenty of money but he did not want to make his poorer classmates jealous so he wore cheap clothes to make them feel better.

Answer

The school had special, unsightly uniforms for children who could not afford their own

Answer

At the time, you needed to pay for a special license to wear nice clothes in South Africa.

Question 4

Why was the author allowed to bond with the more popular boys during grade 9?

Accepted Answer

He could make them laugh

Answer

He was so ugly that he made them look better.

Answer

He was so good with women that the popular boys kept him around for advice.

Answer

He was poor so the popular boys hung out with him out of pity

Question 5

How did the author feel about his friend Zaheera?

Accepted Answer

He had a massive crush on her.

Answer

He was using her to get closer to her friend, Johanna.

Answer

He was using her to get closer to her friend, Gary.

Answer

He thought she was annoying.

Question 6

How did the author behave when he realized he had a crush during grade 9?

Accepted Answer

He kept it secret.

Answer

He asked his mother for advice.

Answer

He disavowed all forms of lust and went into monastic seclusion.

Answer

He asked his crush out right away

Question 7

What convinced the author that it would be best to bide his time before revealing his crush?

Accepted Answer

Girls in American high school movies always fell for their best friends.

Answer

His crush's boyfriend, Gary, said he should wait because Gary wanted to sabotage the author

Answer

The author assumed that his feelings would fade soon.

Answer

His crush's friend, Johanna, told the author that Zaheera did not want to date him.

Question 8

When did the author decide to reveal his crush on Zaheera?

Accepted Answer

At the matric dance.

Answer

Over the winter holiday.

Answer

During a telephone call.

Answer

While Zaheera was driving to the airport.

Question 9

What happened before the author could ask Zaheera out?

Accepted Answer

She moved to America

Answer

The author was sentenced to work in the salt mines.

Answer

She married her boyfriend, Gary.

Answer

She was captured by Zulu extremists.

Question 10

How did Zaheera feel about the author?

Accepted Answer

She liked him back and secretly wished that he would ask her out.

Answer

She did not know that he existed.

Answer

She thought of him as just a friend.

Answer

She hated him.

Question 11

What was the racial composition of Highlands North?

Accepted Answer

Highlands North was almost entirely white.

Answer

Highlands North was almost entirely black

Answer

Highlands North was cosmopolitan, with no single majority race.

Answer

Highlands North was almost entirely Indian.

Question 12

Why did the author have trouble making friends in Highlands North?

Accepted Answer

The kids there only played inside

Answer

Everyone there, except for the author, spoke Zulu.

Answer

He got bad laryngitis after they moved, so he could not hold a conversation.

Answer

Kids at Highlands North were obsessed with Pokemon, but the author could not afford a Gameboy.

Question 13

Why were the homes in Highlands North surrounded by six-foot-tall electrified walls?

Accepted Answer

The white residents feared black South Africans.

Answer

Highlands North was a government facility, housing top-secret agents.

Answer

The walls were not electrified; that was just something Patricia told the author so that he would stop trying to climb them.

Answer

The homeowner's association was run by a security specialist.

Question 14

To whom does the author refer when he talks about "domestics" in the story "Colorblind"?

Accepted Answer

Domestic servants and their families.

Answer

White suburbanites who only drink domestic beer.

Answer

White suburbanite housewives.

Answer

Anyone who is not a member of a militia.

Question 15

What did the author have in common with his friend, Teddy?

Accepted Answer

They were both considered trouble makers.

Answer

They knew each other from Soweto.

Answer

They both had buck teeth.

Answer

They both had Swiss fathers.

Question 16

What cartoon character's name did Patricia use to refer to Teddy?

Accepted Answer

Buggs Bunny, because of his buck teeth and sense of humor.

Answer

Danger Mouse, for his penchant for danger.

Answer

Sylvester the Cat, due to his severe speech impediment

Answer

Mickey Mouse, because of his white face.

Question 17

What crime did the author and Teddy get caught committing?

Accepted Answer

Stealing chocolates from a store.

Answer

Assaulting a stranger.

Answer

Robbing an elderly person at gunpoint.

Answer

Doing drugs.

Question 18

How did Teddy and the author respond when they were seen committing a crime?

Accepted Answer

They ran.

Answer

They pretended it was for a school project.

Answer

They confessed.

Answer

They beat the officer up.

Question 19

How did the security footage distort the author's appearance after he and Teddy stole from the store?

Accepted Answer

It made his skin appear to be lighter.

Answer

It made him look much fatter than he was in real life.

Answer

It blurred out his face entirely.

Answer

It created dark circles under his eyes that made him look menacing.

Question 20

What did the police ask the author when he was called in for questioning regarding the stolen chocolate?

Accepted Answer

They asked whether he knew if Teddy had any white friends.

Answer

They asked if he knew where Teddy had gone

Answer

They asked why he and Teddy stole the chocolates.

Answer

They asked him to submit to a blood-alcohol test.

Question 21

What is the single official language of South Africa?

Accepted Answer

There are 11 official languages in South Africa

Answer

South Africa has no official language.

Answer

Zulu.

Answer

Afrikaans.

Question 22

How did the author supplement his income during grade 12?

Accepted Answer

He sold pirated CDs.

Answer

He performed at stand up comedy gigs.

Answer

He got a job working in a field.

Answer

He became a guard at the mall.

Question 23

Why did the author perform at the Hammanskraal talent show?

Accepted Answer

His friend Tom had promised them he was the famous hip hop hype man, Spliff Star.

Answer

He wanted to show off how many languages he could speak.

Answer

He had been challenged to play the ukulele as a dare

Answer

He had some new stand-up comedy material to try out.

Question 24

What does the author mean when he says that Babiki and her family were amabhujua?

Accepted Answer

He means that they were poor but spent money on expensive luxuries.

Answer

He means that they were partially descended from Europeans.

Answer

He means that they were extremely skilled accountants.

Answer

He means that they knew secret shamanic traditions.

Question 25

How did the author know Tom and Bongani?

Accepted Answer

They worked for him.

Answer

They were his principal's sons.

Answer

They were his brothers.

Answer

They were his mentors at school.

Question 26

Which pop culture character did the author use as inspiration for putting together his outfit for the matric dance?

Accepted Answer

Neo, from The Matrix

Answer

George Brady, from The Brady Bunch

Answer

The Fonz, from Happy Days.

Answer

Baron Samedi, from Live and Let Die

Question 27

What did Babiki refuse to do once she and the author arrived at the dance?

Accepted Answer

Leave the car.

Answer

Keep her shoes on.

Answer

Kiss the author.

Answer

Stop singing.

Question 28

Why did students come out of the dance to look at Babiki?

Accepted Answer

They had heard that she was beautiful.

Answer

They had heard that she was hurt.

Answer

They had heard that she was deformed.

Answer

They had heard that she looked just like Trinity from the Matrix.

Question 29

What did Bongani reveal to the author about Babiki after everyone came out of the dance to look at her?

Accepted Answer

She did not speak English.

Answer

Babiki was actually a member of the secret police.

Answer

Babiki was a violent alcoholic.

Answer

Babiki had never spoken to a man outside of her family before.

Question 30

What happened when the author dropped Babiki off at her house?

Accepted Answer

They kissed.

Answer

Her dad came out and yelled at them.

Answer

She screamed that she never wanted to see him again

Answer

They shared a bottle of wine.

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