Click image for enlargement. Illustration by Anton.

Ten questions. Answer at least six to pass. If you flunk, lose your chance to become an American citizen.

Talk about the scariest pop quiz ever.

The exam is one of the challenges people from around the world face before becoming naturalized U.S. citizens. And, with the political battle over immigration policy reaching fever pitch, it's interesting to check out what may be the most intimidating step there is on the road to U.S. citizenship.

Kathleen Banos, officer in charge of the Nevada office of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, says most native-born Americans probably don't realize that becoming a citizen means hitting the books.

"It's not quite filling out an application and paying the money," she explains. "I think most of them are not aware of the in-depthness of the studying that is required."

The test is designed to ensure that prospective citizens know at least the basics of American history and how government functions in the United States. It comes at the end of the naturalization process, which -- barring complications or other holdups -- currently takes six to eight months in Las Vegas.

After passing background checks and completing other steps in the process, each applicant meets an examiner for a final, in-person interview. During that meeting, the prospective citizen is asked to answer 10 questions chosen randomly from a list of more than 90 possible questions.

Applicants who answer fewer than six correctly may arrange to take the exam again. But, if they fail a second time, their applications for citizenship are denied and they must begin the entire process again.

The test can make for some stressful moments. Banos, herself a former examiner, recalls quizzing a young woman who was so nervous that she cried from the moment she entered the office until the moment she left.

"When I told her she passed, she absolutely howled," Banos says. "I walked out to get copies of something, and somebody looked at me and said, 'She didn't pass?' I said: 'No, she did. Imagine if she didn't.' "

Applicants can study for the test through online Web sites, booklets and study materials from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Flashcards, CDs and videotapes in several languages also are available.

For more information about the naturalization process, visit the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Web site (www.uscis.gov).

GIVE IT A TRY

Here, taken from government study guides, are some of the questions you -- you lucky native-born American citizen, you -- might face if you were applying for naturalization.

You'll find the answers on Page 4K . Let's see if you have what it takes to be an American citizen. ?

1. What do the stars on the U.S. flag mean?

2. What do the stripes on the flag mean?

3. How many changes or amendments are there to the Constitution?

4. Who are Nevada's two senators?

5. How many voting members are in the House of Representatives?

6. What is the Bill of Rights?

7. Who becomes President of the United States if the president and vice president die?

8. Who is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court?

9. Name the 13 original states.

10. Who said: "Give me liberty or give me death?"

11. According to the Constitution, a person must meet certain requirements in order to be eligible to become President. Name one of these requirements.

12. Who was the main writer of the Declaration of Independence?

13. What is the basic belief of the Declaration of Independence?

14. Who was the president during the Civil War?

15. Name three rights or freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.

16. Who has the power to declare war?

17. In what year was the Constitution written?

18. Name the amendments that guarantee or address voting rights.

19. Name one benefit of being a citizen of the United States.

20. Which countries were our enemies during World War II?

CITiZENSHIP QUIZ ANSWER KEY

Here are the answers to the citizenship quiz.

1. There is one star for each state in the Union.

2. The stripes represent the original 13 states.

3. There are 27 amendments.

4. Sens. Harry Reid and John Ensign

5. There are 435 voting members in the House of Representatives.

6. The first 10 amendments of the Constitution

7. Speaker of the House of Representatives

8. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.

9. Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Rhode Island and Maryland

10. Patrick Henry

11. The president must be a natural-born citizen of the United States, must be at least 35 years old by the time he or she will serve, must have lived in the United States for at least 14 years.

12. Thomas Jefferson

13 That all men are created equal.

14. President Abraham Lincoln

15. A. The right of freedom of speech, press, religion, peaceable assembly and requesting change of government.

B. The right to bear arms (the right to have weapons or own a gun, though subject to certain regulations).

C. The government may not quarter, or house, soldiers in the people's homes during peacetime without the people's consent.

D. The government may not search or take a person's property without a warrant."

E. A person may not be tried twice for the same crime and does not have to testify against himself.

F. A person charged with a crime still has some rights, such as the right to a trial and to have a lawyer.

G. The right to trial by jury in most cases.

H. Protects people against excessive or unreasonable fines or cruel and unusual punishment.

I. The people have rights other than those mentioned in the Constitution. Any power not given to the federal government by the Constitution is a power of either the state or the people.

16. The Congress

17. 1787

18. The 15th, the 19th and the 24th amendments

19. Obtain federal government jobs; travel with a U.S. passport; petition for close relatives to come to the United States to live.

20. Germany, Italy and Japan.

If you answered 15 or more -- You're either a well-informed U.S. citizen or a high school student taking government class this semester. And if you're not already a U.S. citizen, the welcome mat is out.

If you answered 10 to 14 -- After your child goes to sleep tonight, you owe it to yourself to spend a few hours perusing the kid's civics textbook.

If you answered 5 to 9 -- We're all busy. But you really should spend more time keeping up with current events.

If you answered less than 4 -- You're taking an awful lot for granted. Just be thankful you live in a country where being oblivious to the basics of citizenship isn't fatal.