Freedom Fighters: Malala Quiz

Which excerpt from “Pakistan’s Malala” shows Malala’s viewpoint?

• "I have the right of education," she said in a 2011 interview with CNN. "I have the right to play. I have the right to sing.”

• “In her BBC blog, Malala wrote on the eve of the edict that she had just ended her routine winter break from school.”

Answer explanation

Viewpoint-her opinion, her ideas or position about a topic.

On the blog, she praised her father, who was operating one of the few schools that would go on to defy (go against) that order.

"My father said that some days ago someone brought the printout of this diary saying how wonderful it was," Malala wrote. "My father said that he smiled, but could not even say that it was written by his daughter."

Now that active and imaginative mind could be gone.

Which sentence best reflects Ziauddin Yousufzai’s view of his daughter’s writing?

• On the blog, she praised her father, who was operating one of the few schools. . . .”

• "My father said that he smiled, but could not even say that it was written by his daughter."

In 2010 she met with U.S. Special Envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke.

Ellick remembers being with Malala in a coffee shop after the meeting.

"She said, 'I want to get ice cream . . . I love vanilla ice cream,'" Ellick recalled. "Here is this girl that can go from being at a negotiating table, a high-level diplomatic meeting, but she also wanted ice cream."

Ellick remembered another time when they were out shopping in Islamabad, having fun and hunting for English language books and DVDs.

"I was disappointed that she wanted some trashy American sitcoms," Ellick laughs. "I kept telling myself, 'I know you want her to want to watch a documentary about Sierra Leone but she is just a girl.'"

Which statement best describes reporter Adam Ellick’s viewpoint?

• Malala is wise beyond her years and should not waste time on pop culture or television.

• Malala displays the characteristics of both a capable activist and a bright young girl.

Answer explanation

Look at the questions. Make sure you see the same words in the passage.

Read the excerpt from “Pakistan’s Malala.”

"I was in a bad mood," Malala blogged.

Vacation was normally fun but no one was in the mood to celebrate.

But what do you do when you're 11? You go to the playground and you play, so that's what they did.

Some of the girls said they thought everything would work out. They'd be back, they said.

Malala wanted to be hopeful, too. But before she left, she turned around and took one long look at the building.

Malala was right about the edict (law or rule) and what it meant.

Which statement best describes Malala’s viewpoint?

• She was disappointed because her school was likely closed permanently.

• She was in agreement with the other girls that the school would be reopened.

"Ziauddin had a revolutionary zeal and deep commitment to education," Ellick said this week. "This charming little girl, she is a mini-version of him in many ways. She loves school, homework. Whenever she would meet me she had a bookbag full of books."

"She didn't have that idealistic activist attitude when she's 10 and 11, because who does?" Ellick said. "Her situation demanded that she grow up before she should have. She caught his contagious commitment and idealism."

Which detail best reflects how living in the Taliban-ruled Swat Valley affected Malala?

• “Her situation demanded that she grow up before she should have.”

• “Whenever she would meet me she had a bookbag full of books.”

Read the excerpt from “Pakistan’s Malala.”

But this was not how Malala decided she would live. With the encouragement of her father, she began believing that she was stronger than the things that scared her.

"The Taliban have repeatedly targeted schools in Swat," she wrote in an extraordinary blog when she was empowered to share her voice with the world by the BBC.

She was writing around the time the Taliban issued a formal edict in January 2009 banning all girls from schools. On the blog, she praised her father, who was operating one of the few schools that would go on to defy that order.

Which sentence best expresses Malala’s viewpoint?

• “The Taliban have repeatedly targeted schools in Swat,” she wrote. . . .

• “[S]he began believing that she was stronger than the things that scared her.”

Answer explanation

You are looking for Malala's viewpoint.

Which detail from “Pakistan’s Malala” best expresses how the setting influenced the residents of Swat Valley?

• “Parents kept their daughters home to protect them.”

• “The Taliban would come for her again if she managed to survive. . . .”

Based on “Pakistan’s Malala,” which best describes Swat Valley before the Taliban took over?

• a dangerous area where people lived in fear

• a spot that tourists visited to see the landscape

Malala looks the same today at 14, as she did at 11, as a child. But with each interview she gave to Pakistani and international reporters between 2009 and 2012, she sounded more like an adult.

Based on this excerpt, how did the interviews affect Malala?

• She started looking older than her age.

• She became older sounding and acting.

Based on "Pakistan’s Malala,” which best states why blogging was an effective and useful way for Malala to share her experiences?

• It allowed Malala to continue her education in a different way while still living in Swat.

• It allowed Malala to share what was going on in Swat with an audience across the globe.