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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. The mother has purchased a new mirror at _______________________.

2. For dinner, Jing-mei and Canning share with his relatives ____________________________.

3. An-Mei finds that in Tientsin, she has a __________________.

4. During an epidemic in Shanghai, Ying-Ying worked in ____________________.

5. Canning Woo's nickname, Syau Yen, means __________________.

Short Essay Questions

1. The fact that June Woo's mother has searched for a lifetime for her two daughters, and then dies before she can see them again, is strongly ironic. How might the story have been different if she had lived to make the trip to China and reunited with her daughters?

2. It becomes more obvious in this chapter the kinds of adults that Jing-Mei and Waverly have grown into. Who is more likable?

3. Why does Rose's mother say that Rose is without wood?

4. Does Ying-Ying love her husband, Saint?

5. "Peach blossom luck" is a feng shui belief that certain objects and angles in a room will influence the happiness and longevity of a marriage. Discuss why or why not this might be possible.

6. Did Lena's mother knock the table over that shattered the vase in her bedroom?

7. Why did An-Mei feel she had no choice but to marry Wu Tsing?

8. Why does Lena have such a strange financial relationship with Harold?

9. How does it affect Jing-Mei to meet her long lost sisters in China?

10. Lindo was a very strong girl, traveling alone and finding her way in San Francisco. How does Waverly compare to her mother in terms of strength and character?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

There are many references in this story to the invasion of China by Japan. Write an expository essay revealing why Japan invaded China and what it hoped to gain by this. What were the circumstances of the war that made China vulnerable? What was the outcome between the two countries? Did China accomplish what it hoped to by invading Japan?

Essay Topic 2

Every year people are swept out to sea while vacationing at the beaches on the Pacific coastline. Rose Hsu's younger brother, Bing, got into a particularly precarious position before losing his life in the powerful ocean. Research and write an essay about the several predictable things that people do, or things that they ignore at the coast, that can prove dangerous and sometimes fatal. (This information is readily available from California, Oregon and Washington government agencies.) Why is this such an ongoing problem?

Essay Topic 3

The older Chinese women in this story experienced certain aspects of severe female oppression while in China. At the heart of this story is the message of how our own past is imprinted on our children, regardless of how different their lives are. Write an essay about how the experiences of each of the older Chinese women in the story purposely, or inadvertently, passed on certain attitudes and viewpoints about women and their roles to their American daughters. Discuss the impact on their daughters, as well.

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