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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. Who is the police officer who investigates the car theft at the motel?

2. What board game do the weeklies often play?

3. Which hotel is in competition with the Calivista?

4. What analogy does Lupe use for the rich and poor in America?

5. Which girl in Mia's class says one of the same things about herself as Mia says?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Why was the memory of the chocolate-scented notebook such a painful one for Mia?

3. In Chapter 18, what does Lupe tell Mia about the two roller coasters in America?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why does Mia keep her tip jar at the Calivista a secret from her parents? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text.

Essay Topic 2

What does Mia learn about how the tensions and desperation of her parents' work and financial situations affects their marriage? Write an essay explaining your answers.

Essay Topic 3

How does hearing from their friends and former co-workers who are also Chinese immigrants in America during their brief stays at the Calivista affect Mia's and her parents' understanding about their own potential prospects and opportunities in the U.S.? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your answers.

(see the answer keys)

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