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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How does Jing-Mei say her academic career ended in “Two Kinds”?
(a) She dropped out of college
(b) She earned a bachelor’s degree
(c) She earned a law degree
(d) She earned a master’s degree

2. Of Auntie Lindo’s daughter, Jing-Mei says “We had grown up together and shared all the closeness of two sisters squabbling over crayons and dolls. In other words, for the most part, we” what?
(a) Hated each other
(b) Pestered each other
(c) Envied each other
(d) Loved each other

3. What nickname does Jing-Mei say she secretly gave Mr. Chong when she began taking piano lessons with him?
(a) Old Chong
(b) Wicked Chong
(c) Sage Chong
(d) Wise Chong

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

5. 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) Two days ago
(c) A year ago
(d) A week ago

6. By the time that Jing-Mei is preparing to play in the talent recital, her parents have bought her what kind of secondhand piano?
(a) A Förster upright
(b) A Steinway upright
(c) A Steinway grand
(d) A Wurlitzer spinet

7. 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) Great Britain
(d) Australia

8. What does the piano symbolize in “Two Kinds”?
(a) Jing-Mei’s longing for cultural resonance
(b) Jing-Mei’s love for her father
(c) Jing-Mei’s mother’s ambitions for her
(d) Jing-Mei’s belief in a higher spiritual being

9. What does Jing-Mei do with the Chinese silk dresses she finds when sorting through her mother’s things at the end of the story?
(a) She sells them
(b) She gives them to her sister
(c) She takes them home with her
(d) She gives them to her father

10. How long ago has Jing-Mei’s mother died when she sends the tuner to recondition the piano at the end of the story?
(a) A week ago
(b) A few months ago
(c) A few years ago
(d) A year ago

11. When Jing-Mei and her mother get into an argument about Jing-Mei beginning piano lessons, Jing-Mei’s mother exclaims, “If she had as much talent as she has temper, she would be” what?
(a) Rich now
(b) A better daughter
(c) Famous now
(d) Easier to deal with

12. How do Jing-Mei and her parents travel home after the talent show?
(a) By bus
(b) By limousine
(c) By taxi
(d) By train

13. The majority of the narrative of “Two Kind” is related in what tense?
(a) Future tense
(b) Past tense
(c) Future-possessive tense
(d) Present tense

14. Jing-Mei says that her mother offered to give her the piano for her birthday when she turned how old?
(a) 30
(b) 40
(c) 25
(d) 20

15. Auntie Lindo tells Jing-Mei’s mother that all day long she has no time to do anything but what, when she is bragging about her daughter?
(a) Clean her daughter’s pageant dresses
(b) Dust off her trophies
(c) Polish her daughter’s beauty crowns
(d) Vacuum her daughter’s messes up

Short Answer Questions

1. “Two Kinds” is a short story from Amy Tan’s book The Joy Luck Club. This collection of short stories revolves around the lives of Chinese immigrant women who form a club and play what game?

2. What does Jing-Mei kick under her feet as her mother drags her to the piano for practice after the talent show?

3. What word from the story means to play music with a vibratory or quavering effect?

4. What is the name of Auntie Lindo’s daughter in the story?

5. 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?

(see the answer keys)

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