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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 sign does Mia make for the motel in Chapter 15?

2. What does Mia fondly remember an old man in China giving her on her way home from school?

3. What does Mr. Yao do to Mia's parents in Chapter 6 that upsets her parents?

4. What instrument does Mia play?

5. What does Mia tell Jason about her first day at the front desk?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Mr. Yao tell Mia is the difference between a good employee and a bad employee?

2. What does Hank Caleb tell Mia about Mr. Yao when she first meets Hank?

3. What is Mia's mother's tradition of "taking a picture" at happy or significant moments?

4. What kind of trouble does Uncle Ming tell Mia's parents he has gotten into?

5. What happens that causes a great stir at the motel in Chapter 21?

6. What do Mia's parents only use on special occasions, either for joy or distress, from China?

7. Why does Mia begin to feel sympathy for Jason Yao in Chapter 8?

8. What happens when Mr. Yao makes Jason work at the front desk for a while?

9. What does Mia's mother tell her when Mia asks her why they came to America in the first place?

10. In Chapter 16, why does Mia tell her mother she does not want her favorite cereal at the store?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What do readers learn from Yang's extensive Author's Note at the end of this novel? How does reading the Author's Note potentially affect a reader's understanding of the novel and some of its major themes? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

How does the Tang family's experiences with the health care system in America affect Mia's perception of how Americans treat immigrants, and, separately, poor people, in general? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text.

Essay Topic 3

Why is it such a shock for Mia to receive Shen's letter and learn that Shen's family seems to have moved into the upper-class back in China? How does this news make Mia feel? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text.

(see the answer keys)

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