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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. What simile does Hyeonseo use to describe the fireball emanating from her childhood home?
(a) Like a chrysanthemum.
(b) Like a water lily.
(c) Like a snapdragon.
(d) Like a peony.

2. What was NOT a characteristic of the special class Hyeonseo began taking when she was 15?
(a) There were only three girls in the class.
(b) The class was for girls only.
(c) The class taught housekeeping skills.
(d) The class taught knitting skills.

3. On what type of transport is Hyeonseo's mother traveling when she meets Hyeonseo's father?
(a) A trolley.
(b) A bicycle.
(c) A plane.
(d) A train.

4. Hyeonseo says that her parents' jobs and business dealings meant that her family had enough what?
(a) Medical care.
(b) Food.
(c) Vacation.
(d) Power.

5. What does seo mean in Korean?
(a) Wealth.
(b) Smile.
(c) Good fortune.
(d) Health.

Short Answer Questions

1. In what season did Hyeonseo and her family move to the riverfront house in Hyesan?

2. For North Korean citizens, joining the Young Pioneer Corps is compulsory in the years between what two ages?

3. Even though it meant shopping for food every day, for what reason did Hyeonseo's mother eschew the latest trend of buying a refrigerator from China?

4. At what age does Hyeonseo witness her first public execution?

5. What form of currency does Hyeonseo say is required for bribes and for the purchase of black market goods?

Short Essay Questions

1. What event causes Hyeonseo to change her behavior of listening to South Korean pop with her friends?

2. What is the "only permitted outlet for spiritual fervor" (41) in North Korea and what does the author say is the punishment for seeking out different means of spirituality?

3. What are the two types of prison in the gulag?

4. How does Hyeonseo interpret the fortune-teller's announcement that Hyeonseo will have "a future connected with music" and will "eat foreign rice" (43)?

5. What beliefs about Chinese people does Hyeonseo say are taught to every North Korean child?

6. What major rite of passage within North Korea's culture does Hyeonseo undergo when she is 14 years old?

7. How are the themes of money and freedom linked within the scene in which Hyeonseo's mother is caught on the street wearing trousers?

8. What do the hills surrounding the city of Anju symbolize within the text?

9. Where is Hyeonseo's family's new house in Hyesan located after they move back from Anju?

10. How is Hyeonseo's mother's devotion to Hyeonseo's father demonstrated in the scene when Hyeonseo's father does not return on time from his business trip to China?

(see the answer keys)

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