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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. What have Alexandra's parents bought for as long as she has known them?

2. What do Alexandra and her colleagues scan every morning at work?

3. What does the managing editor say in an all-hands meeting that shocks Alexandra?

4. What shirt did J used to wear that makes Alexandra uncomfortable?

5. Who is Alexandra's brother?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Alexandra feel about her inability to speak or understand Chinese well in Part I?

2. What kind of liberals does a junior high teacher of Alexandra's say Davis was full of?

3. What are some things Alexandra likes about media work?

4. How does Alexandra feel about driving on her cross-country trip with J?

5. What does the woman Alexandra works for doing house-organizing tasks tell her that is quite racist?

6. Why does Alexandra ask her mother what she thought of Nashville when she arrived there in 1982?

7. Why was the racial makeup that comprises Alexandra's relationship with J - Asian woman and white man - easier to ignore in San Francisco?

8. What forms the foundation of Alexandra's friendship with Jasmine?

9. What kind of advice does Tim give to Alexandra in Part I?

10. What is the relationship between Alexandra's parents like?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Alexandra feel when people in both America and China voice their presumptions about her language skills in each place? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

What are the nuances and complications that define Alexandra's feelings about her relationship with J early in the novel? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay analyzing why Alexandra gets a cat and a dog after moving to Ithaca and discuss what the pets symbolize to her.

(see the answer keys)

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