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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. What does Ye Pan give Hong before Hong leaves?

2. Why does the Magistrate let the boys go with no punishment?

3. In what province do Lao Chen and Lao Hong live?

4. What is Shen Ding's reply?

5. What does Lin Shi refuse to believe?

Short Essay Questions

1. From where is Chen returning on a cart and on what is he thinking?

2. What talent does Chen have and at what age does this talent show?

3. Where and with whom do the boys live, and why is their life style less than it should be?

4. Who is suspicious of the brothers, why and what does he intend to do?

5. What test taker treats the brothers to tea and what does he tell Chen about the examination?

6. Give a brief description of the two boys, Lao Hong and Lao Chen.

7. How does Hong intend to help his brother Chen, and what are the names of his two crickets?

8. What happens after Chen is shown to his testing cubicle?

9. What happens as the brothers leave Ma's home?

10. What surprises Hong when the boys leave on their journey and how does Chen feel about it?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Bosse has tried as much as possible to use historical events and facts around which to weave his work of fiction. Discuss the following:

1. Do you think this book qualifies as an historical fiction? Why or why not?

2. If much of the events in the book are historical, what surprises you about the way the events play out?

3. Do you think the culture of that era is more or less advanced than you imagined? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the following:

1. Who is/are the protagonists of "The Examination" and why?

2. Who is/are the antagonists of "The Examination" and why?

3. Which 3 secondary characters have the greatest impact on the plot of "The Examination"?

4. Are any of the characters dispensable and which ones? Why or why not?

5. Do you think this is a character-driven plot or an action-driven plot? Explain.

Essay Topic 3

Most protagonists are a mixture of admirable traits and character flaws, and Lao Chen is no exception. Discuss the following:

1. Trace and analyze situations when Chen demonstrates his prodigious powers intellect. Give specific examples to illustrate your analysis.

2. Trace and analyze Chen's character flaws offering specific examples of these flaws in your discussion.

3. Discuss how you think Chen's admirable traits helped him obtain a high position in the government despite his background as a child. Have his flaws impacted his career at all? Do any of those around him seem to notice these flaws? Who? How does the reader know this?

(see the answer keys)

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