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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where did Qian's mother get a job in Chapter 8?

2. Where did Qian's father take her on her first day of school in America?

3. In prekindergarten, how long were Qian and her classmates supposed to take a nap at midday?

4. What color cloth covered the windows where Qian's mother started to work in Chapter 5?

5. In Chapter 8, why did Qian's mother leave a job busing tables?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Qian say about arriving in the United States and her life there in "How It Began"?

2. What happened to Wang Lao Shi's eldest brother?

3. Who was assigned to help Qian in school in Chapter 6, and what did the girl tell her at lunchtime?

4. What did Qian's parents do for her when she had chickenpox?

5. What did Qian's mother suffer from when traveling, and when was her sickness particularly bad?

6. In Chapter 0, what happy memory did Qian have with her parents?

7. How did Qian and her mother get off the plane in Japan?

8. What job did Qian's father get in Chapter 8?

9. What is Qian's father's earliest memory?

10. What did Qian buy for a secret Santa gift in Chapter 9, and how was it received?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Qian’s father always tried to avoid embarrassment. Why did he always try to avoid embarrassment? What did saving face have to do with his efforts? Why was it important to him not to lose face?

Essay Topic 2

What a reader knows about events and people is determined by the point of view in a book. What is the point of view in the book? How does the point of view influence what readers know about events and people?

Essay Topic 3

Qian and her mother worked hard to have better lives. How did they work hard to make better lives? What barriers did they face in their efforts? How did tenacity help them not give up and achieve better lives?

(see the answer keys)

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