The Living

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. What is Shy’s role in his family?

A) The jokester, responsible for making people laugh

B) Unreliable, always leaning on others for help

C) An enforcer, making sure people follow the rules

D) The caretaker, even though he is young

2. Which of the following best builds the theme of Power, Class, and Race Dynamics?

A) The ocean

B) Carmen and Shy talking

C) The cruise ship

D) Shy rescuing Bill

3. What form of figurative language does this quote exhibit: “The ocean still whispering, same as before. Like nothing whatsoever has happened, and nothing will.” (Prologue)

A) Simile

B) Personification

C) Alliteration

D) Imagery

4. Which of the following events causes Shy’s grandmother’s death?

A) The tsunami

B) The earthquake

C) Romero Disease

D) The rocket on the island

5. What literary device does this quote incorporate? “He felt like he’d been shown the truth of the world. The absolute power it held. People just meaningless specks that came and went as easily as flipping a switch.” (Chapter 27)

A) Simile

B) Personification

C) Imagery

D) Alliteration

6. How does Shy demonstrate leadership?

A) Shy directs people to their stations for departure during the storm.

B) Shy offers money to patrons on the cruise ship to help pay their bills.

C) Shy rescues all the people in quarantine before the island is destroyed.

D) Shy takes the exam to become captain of the next cruise.

7. What connection do Shy and Carmen have that she and her fiancé do not share?

A) They both lost someone they loved to Romero Disease.

B) They both live in Florida but used to live in Colorado.

C) They both come from very wealthy families.

D) They both survived an earthquake just before the cruise.

8. What does Shy realize about social class and power while stranded on the lifeboat?

A) The wealthier the person, the greater the chance of surviving being stranded at sea.

B) When stranded at sea, social class means almost nothing.

C) Being wealthy affords some luxuries on the lifeboat, but not many.

D) The power structure is inverted on the lifeboat, with less wealthy people having more power.

9. Which description best fits the mood as Shy and Addison swim from the boat toward the island?

A) Jubilant and free

B) Terrified and silent

C) Humorous and sassy

D) Distant and worried

10. What is different about Bill when Shy first sees him on the island?

A) He is more dangerous, threatening Shy with a gun before he even gets on dry land.

B) He is funnier, turning to humor to cope with the situation.

C) He is more introspective, spending most of the time by himself in the forest.

D) He is more grateful, expressing how much he appreciates Shy saving his life.

11. What can be inferred by Carmen and Shy insisting on seeing Rodney even though he is in quarantine?

A) They want to cause trouble for LasoTech.

B) They care and are worried about their friend.

C) They hope to catch Romero Disease to get immunity.

D) They do not believe the sickness is real.

12. Why does Shy knock on Addison’s door as everyone prepares to leave the island?

A) He blames her and wants to make sure she pays for the horrors her father caused.

B) He wants to make sure she and Carmen spend more time together.

C) He thinks he is sick and wants to warn her they might both have Romero Disease.

D) He and Addison grew close while stranded at sea, and he wants to check on her.

13. When does Shy trust Shoeshine when he first arrives on the island?

A) Shoeshine reveals he is Addison’s missing uncle.

B) Shoeshine tells them LasoTech is trying to burn down the island.

C) Shoeshine helps rescue Shy and Addison at sea.

D) Shoeshine takes care of the sick at great personal risk.

14. Which of the following does LasoTech seem to value most?

A) Comfort

B) Money

C) Fairness

D) Science

15. Which is the correct order of events?

A) Tsunamis hit the cruise ship; William Henry gives a ring to Shy; Shy tells Carmen and Marcus not to line up for the ship; a company infects people in Mexico with Romero Disease on purpose.

B) A company infects people in Mexico with Romero Disease on purpose; tsunamis hit the cruise ship; William Henry gives a ring to Shy; Shy tells Carmen and Marcus not to line up for the ship.

C) Shy tells Carmen and Marcus not to line up for the ship; a company infects people in Mexico with Romero Disease on purpose; tsunamis hit the cruise ship; William Henry gives a ring to Shy.

D) William Henry gives a ring to Shy; Shy tells Carmen and Marcus not to line up for the ship; a company infects people in Mexico with Romero Disease on purpose; tsunamis hit the cruise ship.

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. What does the storm that hits the cruise ship foreshadow?

2. How does Shy feel at the end of the novel as he heads toward home in the sailboat?