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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. Leila muses that her sister must have a map of ___________ in her head, while Leila only has Chinatown.

2. Who often accompanies Leila on the home visits she makes as a community relations specialist?

3. Who suggests going out to dinner, though Leila instantly recalls a time when they did so with less than positive results?

4. Where is Leon working to help out with the lunch rush, as she eventually discovers?

5. Grandpa looks like one of the Eight Holy ________________, sun-leathered skin, elephant eyes, and slow moving.

Short Essay Questions

1. What just happened which gives the local Chinatown gossips another thing to talk about?

2. What does Leila learn about Leon when she is making the rounds again of Leon's hangouts?

3. What is the secret of Nina that Mah decides to share with everyone for no good reason?

4. Why does Leon tend to keep old things, even if they are not useful anymore?

5. Why does Nina not necessarily share in the crush that Zeke has on her according to this chapter?

6. What has Leon done to the light he has invented, which Leila turns on when she notices Mah?

7. What are some of the obstacles that are standing in the way of Leon when he goes to visit the cemetery?

8. Why did Nina decide to quit her past job as a flight attendant, according to the story?

9. Why is Lynette Yee getting upset with Leila and her actions at this point of the story?

10. What would have happened had Grandpa Leong actually have been a family man, according to the book?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Leila seems to be the character who gets put into the middle of a number of situations in the story.

Part 1: Why do you think that Leila is often put into the middle of situations within this story?

Part 2: Is there another character in the story who might be a better mediator? Why or why not?

Part 3: Why is Leila resentful of being the one who has to mediate some situations?

Essay Topic 2

As the family grows up, many establish their independence by moving as far away as possible - a common theme in immigrant family stories.

Part 1: Why do you think Nina feels she needs to move as far away as possible?

Part 2: Why does Leila feel as though she needs to establish her independence from her family by eloping?

Part 3: Why do you think children in this family feel they need to distance themselves from the rest of their family in the actions they take?

Essay Topic 3

The suicide in this novel seems to be the one event which pulls everyone together, while at the same time driving them all apart.

Part 1: Why do you think the suicide affects Leon in the way it does?

Part 2: How do you think Leila has been changed by the suicide of Ona?

Part 3: Why do you think Ona decided to kill herself?

(see the answer keys)

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