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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. How much money does Mia figure out that Mr. Yao takes in in one month from the motel?

2. What happens when Mia lets in a slightly disheveled-looking man to the motel in Chapter 12?

3. Where did Mia eat a burger that she will never forget in Chapter 1?

4. How much money does Mr. Yao offer Mia's parents as profit for each room they rent?

5. How do Mia and her family clean the towels in Part I?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Mia stop just before she tells her new fifth-grade class she lives in a motel?

2. What does Uncle Li tell Mia and her parents about his work experience that shocks them?

3. In Chapter 9, what event provides an unexpected moment of joy for Mia and her family?

4. Why do Mia's parents refuse to let her help them clean at the motel?

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

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

7. Who helps Mia when she mistakenly buzzes a drunk person into the motel, and what does the person helping her do?

8. What conclusion does Mia come to about the profitability of the Calivista Motel?

9. What act of kindness and generosity does Mia do for Uncle Li in Chapter 16?

10. What ideas does Mia have to make the motel safer for her and her parents?

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

More than anything else, hearing the immigrants' stories who come to stay at the Calivista Motel makes Mia aware of the vulnerability of many Chinese immigrants in America. Write an essay exploring the different ways in which the immigrants detail their experiences of exploitation, citing specific references to the text to help support your answers.

(see the answer keys)

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