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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Of her first lessons with Mr. Chong, Jing-Mei says, “I would play after him, the simple scale, the simple chord and then I just played some nonsense that sounded like” what?
(a) A solitary violin
(b) A cat running up and down on top of garbage cans
(c) A chorus of birds singing in the treetops
(d) A crash of bricks against a tin rooftop

2. What is the neighborhood called where Jing-Mei’s family lives when she’s a child?
(a) Little Italy
(b) SoHo
(c) Nob Hill
(d) Chinatown

3. Who founded the Ripley’s Believe It or Not franchise?
(a) James Ripley
(b) Robert Ripley
(c) George Ripley
(d) Alexander Ripley

4. What word from the narrative means under a magical trance?
(a) Elated
(b) Bewitched
(c) Engulfed
(d) Trilled

5. How many hours a day does Jing-Mei have access to the piano at Mr. Chong’s for practice when she first begins taking lessons?
(a) 4
(b) 3
(c) 1
(d) 2

6. When was Edvard Grieg born?
(a) 1798
(b) 1919
(c) 1843
(d) 1935

7. What is Jing-Mei doing on the day when her mother insists she go practice at the piano after the talent show fiasco?
(a) Calling a friend
(b) Writing in her journal
(c) Listening to the radio
(d) Watching TV

8. At what time does Jing-Mei’s mother insist that Jing-Mei begin her piano practice following the talent show fiasco?
(a) 3
(b) 6
(c) 4
(d) 7

9. Of what ethnicity is the little girl on The Ed Sullivan Show that Jing-Mei and her mother watch playing piano?
(a) Eastern European
(b) African
(c) Japanese
(d) Chinese

10. What color does Jing-Mei say her mother knitted sweaters in, which were also “all the colors I hated”?
(a) Red, white, and black
(b) Yellow, pink, and orange
(c) Green, blue, and yellow
(d) Blue, red, and silver

11. “Two Kinds” is a short story that was initially published in what periodical in February 1989?
(a) Reader’s Digest
(b) The Atlantic
(c) The New Yorker
(d) The San Franciscan

12. When Jing-Mei’s mother asks her for the capital of Finland, Jing-Mei responds with the capital of what country in the beginning of the story?
(a) France
(b) Kenya
(c) Australia
(d) Great Britain

13. Who is the only person applauding when Jing-Mei looks up from her curtsy at the talent show?
(a) Auntie Lindo
(b) Jing-Mei’s father
(c) Mr. Chong
(d) Jing-Mei’s mother

14. How does Jing-Mei describe the Schumann piece that she was to play at the talent show?
(a) It was a textured piece that showed off skills that I didn’t even have
(b) It was a strong and powerful piece, one that I loved
(c) It was a simple, moody piece that sounded more difficult than it was
(d) It was a difficult, multi-layered piece that sounded less difficult than it was

15. Jing-Mei describes the girl playing piano on The Ed Sullivan Show as taking a fancy sweep of a curtsy so that the fluffy skirt of her “dress cascaded slowly to the floor like the petals of” what?
(a) A large carnation
(b) A giant rose
(c) A giant daisy
(d) A large orchid

Short Answer Questions

1. Jing-Mei says that as a child “sometimes the prodigy in me became impatient.” What did Jing-Mei’s inner prodigy tell her at this time?

2. When Jing-Mei refuses to practice piano after the talent show, she tells her mother, “Why should I? I’m not” what?

3. How does Jing-Mei describe Mr. Chong’s eyes as always looking when she began piano lessons with him?

4. What color dress does Jing-Mei wear for her piano debut at the talent show?

5. Jing-Mei says that her mother offered to give her the piano for her birthday when she turned how old?

(see the answer keys)

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