76 pages 2 hours read

Yuri Herrera

Signs Preceding the End of the World

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2009

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Answer Key

Chapters 1-3

Reading Check

1. A switchboard operator (Chapter 1)

2. By “carrying messages” (Chapter 1)

3. So she does not get “captivated” by the city (Chapter 2)

4. Because Mr. Aitch convinced him that Makina’s family owned land in the North (Chapter 2)

5. A bloated corpse with “the eyes and tongue pecked out by buzzards” (Chapter 3)

6. Because there were no cell towers in the village (Chapter 3)

Short Answer

1. “You don’t lift other people’s petticoats. You don’t stop to wonder about other people’s business. You don’t decide which messages to deliver and which to let rot. You are the door, not the one who walks through it.” As a result, Makina is well-respected in the village. (Chapter 1)

2. Makina visits Mr. Double-U to help her cross the border, Mr. Aitch to help her locate her brother, and Mr. Q so she can cross the border again to return home. (Chapter 1)

3. After the long bus journey, Makina reaches the border town where she finds a hostel. As she waits for Mr.