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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Ma flies from California to attend the birth of which of her grandchildren?
(a) Her third.
(b) Her fourth.
(c) Her eighth.
(d) Her first.

2. What happened during the very last time Bo ever saw his mother?
(a) Bo's mother crossed the border into China.
(b) Bo's mother kissed him goodbye and told him to be good.
(c) Bo's grandfather beat up Bo's grandmother.
(d) Bo's father beat up his mother and threw her out.

3. What kind of darkness does Thi remember inside her childhood home?
(a) Stifling.
(b) Claustrophobic.
(c) Ominous.
(d) Soothing.

4. Thi says that the last time Bo saw his mother was during "the height of the" (111) what?
(a) Depression.
(b) Famine.
(c) The war between China and Japan.
(d) Cold War.

5. Bui tells Nguyen that she had gotten good grades and taken what other action in order to get scholarships?
(a) Worked three jobs.
(b) Run for Class President.
(c) Performed hundreds of hours of community service.
(d) Been the valedictorian of her class.

Short Answer Questions

1. In the preface of The Best We Could Do, Bui states that the "seeds of this book were planted" in what year?

2. Thi says that Bo had fished for what kind of creatures in his childhood spent in Hai Phong?

3. In the panel depicting Thi's family members, Bich says, "It's pronounced" (29) in what way?

4. What "immense" (22) emotion does Bui feel after giving birth to her son?

5. What two armies forced the Vietnamese people to uproot their rice in order to plant jute?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Bui use visual elements to underscore her feelings about the doctor's answer to her question in the hospital?

2. How does Bui incorporate foreshadowing in her creation of The Best We Could Do?

3. How does the doctor respond to Thi's question about her child's birth?

4. What food always brings comfort to Thi and why?

5. For what reason is Bo unable to teach in the United States, though he had taught in Vietnam?

6. What lesson does Thi learn through undertaking a major change in 2006?

7. What sort of tone does Bui use to describe Bo's parenting style?

8. What event causes a very young Bo to mentally disown his father?

9. For what purpose does Bui begin Chapter 2: "Rewind, Reverse" in a particular place and then change to a different era on the very next page?

10. Explain the nature of the present-day relationship between Bo and Ma.

(see the answer keys)

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