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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. In what month is the Swing Festival?

2. What is the celebration Li-yan's family hosts during her wedding?

3. What news does Li-yan get from Teacher Zhang?

4. What language do the children in Teacher Zhang's school want to learn?

5. How many days does it take to complete San-pa and Li-yan's wedding ceremony in Spring Well?

Short Essay Questions

1. Li-yan lies about the dog in her dream. What does the dog on the roof really signify?

2. Why was Li-yan surprised her father asked about her dream?

3. Why does Li-yan not go into the Flower Room with boys from her village?

4. Why are men not allowed to see their wives giving birth?

5. What does Li-yan do that defies her mother's instructions?

6. To whom does the term 'human rejects' refer?

7. Why is it ironic that Li-yan acts as translator for the village elders?

8. Identify three superstitions and how they affect Akha life in the village.

9. When Li-yan discovers she is pregnant, what is the first thing she does?

10. Why does Li-yan lie about her dream?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In A Waterfall Of Heaven's Tears, the birth of the twins and what happens to them is shocking to Li-yan and to the reader. How does this experience change Li-yan's view of Akha Laws? What are the consequences?

Essay Topic 2

In A Dog On The Roof, the reader learns about the Akha people and their beliefs. What does the aphorism, "No coincidence, no story," (3) infer about the tribe's cultural traditions? What are the coincidences in Part I? Are they believable?

Essay Topic 3

How does the title of the chapter, The Greedy Eyes Of A Tiger, relate to Huang Benyu's visit to the village and to Yan-yeh's birth? Consider the Akha beliefs and culture and what a tiger represents.

(see the answer keys)

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