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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Jing-Mei respond to her mother on the phone when her mother offers her the piano for her birthday and says, “You could been genius if you wanted to”?
(a) I love you
(b) Yes, I know
(c) I wish I’d known then
(d) No I couldn’t

2. What musical term from Jing-Mei’s piano lessons means characterized by abruptness and disconnectedness?
(a) Trill
(b) Reverie
(c) Staccato
(d) Arpeggio

3. How long ago does Jing-Mei say she sent a tuner to her parents’ apartment to recondition the piano at the end of the story?
(a) A month ago
(b) A year ago
(c) A week ago
(d) Two days ago

4. When Jing-Mei refuses to practice piano after the talent show, she tells her mother, “Why should I? I’m not” what?
(a) You
(b) A genius
(c) Your daughter
(d) Talented

5. How does Jing-Mei described her family’s kitchen table where she would sit after dinner with her mother during her childhood?
(a) Oak
(b) Formica
(c) Plywood
(d) Marble

6. Jing-Mei describes sitting down nightly with her mother to examine stories of child prodigies when she was a child. The first of these stories is about a boy who knows all the state capitals and most of the European countries at what age?
(a) 12
(b) 5
(c) 2
(d) 3

7. What “magic word” as in conjuring does Jing-Mei use to describe the effect of her having said hurtful things to her mother during their fight about piano practice?
(a) Voila
(b) Abracadabra
(c) Alakazam
(d) Kapow

8. Where does Jing-Mei describe the piano as standing in her parents’ living room at the end of the story?
(a) In front of the staircase
(b) In front of the door to the kitchen
(c) In front of the bay windows
(d) In front of the television

9. Of her lack of ambitions in music, Jing-Mei says “I was so determined not to try, not to be anybody different that I learned to play only the most ear-splitting preludes, the most discordant” what?
(a) Sonatas
(b) Hymns
(c) Soliloquies
(d) Waltzes

10. Who performs first at the talent show where Jing-Mei makes her piano debut?
(a) The oldest children
(b) The adults
(c) The trombone players
(d) The youngest children

11. 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 simple, moody piece that sounded more difficult than it was
(c) It was a difficult, multi-layered piece that sounded less difficult than it was
(d) It was a strong and powerful piece, one that I loved

12. What is the name of Jing-Mei’s mother in “Two Kinds”?
(a) Suyuan Woo
(b) An-Mei Hsu
(c) Wu-Tsing Hsu
(d) Lindo Jong

13. What is the nickname that Auntie Lindo’s daughter is known by in the area where Jing-Mei grows up?
(a) Chinatown’s Littlest Chinese Chess Champion
(b) Chinatown’s Littlest “Chinatown’s Littlest Chinese Mah-jongg Champion
(c) Chinatown’s Littlest Chinese Checkers Champion
(d) Chinatown’s Littlest Chinese Swimming Star

14. What is Auntie Lindo’s husband’s name?
(a) Uncle Wu
(b) Uncle Tom
(c) Uncle Lee
(d) Uncle Tin

15. What is Jing-Mei’s last name in the story?
(a) Jong
(b) Chong
(c) Hsu
(d) Woo

Short Answer Questions

1. What literary term refers to a short impressionistic scene that focuses on one moment or gives a trenchant impression about a character, idea, setting, or object?

2. Which of the following is a major theme throughout “Two Kinds”?

3. What is Auntie Lindo’s last name in the story?

4. What does Jing-Mei wear in her hair at the talent show?

5. At what time does Jing-Mei have access to Mr. Chong’s piano for her daily practice sessions when she begins studying with him?

(see the answer keys)

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