View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. When was Cheng's struggle meeting held?

2. How much money did Cheng save to give to her gardener?

3. What part of her house was Cheng locked in while the Red Guard looted her home?

4. How much money did Cheng withdraw from her bank after the organization of the Red Guards?

5. What foreign company did Cheng's husband serve as general manager of their Shanghai office?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did Cheng do to try to discipline herself with physical and mental exercise?

2. Why did Cheng decide not to make a false confession?

3. Why didn't Cheng believe that her cellmate received the death penalty?

4. What were the nine categories of enemies during the Cultural Revolution?

5. How had Cheng been able to get books from a bookshop in London?

6. What advice did Mr. Hu come to give Cheng in Chapter 2?

7. How did the bout of pneumonia that Cheng suffered in the winter of 1967 lead to her rapid physical deterioration?

8. How did Dr. Song commit suicide in No. 1 Detention House?

9. Why did Cheng often think back to a few hours before midnight on July 3, 1966?

10. Why did the overthrow of the Shanghai municipal government by the radicals shatter any hope Cheng had of a quick solution to her predicament?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Using examples from the book, discuss why Cheng had mixed emotions about leaving China.

Essay Topic 2

Using examples from the book, discuss Meiping's attitude toward the challenges she experienced growing up in Communist China, especially since she was from a non-working class family.

Essay Topic 3

In 1969, Cheng notes that the people taking part in parades organized to celebrate the conclusion of the Ninth Party Congress were very different from the excited crowds of three years ago. Compare and contrast the actions and attitudes of the people in the street in 1969 to those in the streets in 1966.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 903 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample