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

2. 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) A better daughter
(b) Famous now
(c) Rich now
(d) Easier to deal with

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

4. For how long does Jing-Mei say she practiced piano with Mr. Chong before she overheard her mother and Auntie Lindo bragging about their children?
(a) 5 months
(b) 2 years
(c) 4 weeks
(d) 1 year

5. What word does Jing-Mei use in describing Mr. Chong’s silent instrumental compositions with a vague and dreamy character?
(a) Reverie
(b) Staccato
(c) Arpeggio
(d) Trill

6. In what year did the film Bright Eyes bring Shirley Temple international fame?
(a) 1959
(b) 1934
(c) 1951
(d) 1948

7. “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?
(a) Chinese checkers
(b) Bridge
(c) Chess
(d) Mah-jongg

8. 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 Wurlitzer spinet
(c) A Steinway grand
(d) A Steinway upright

9. 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) Australia
(b) France
(c) Great Britain
(d) Kenya

10. What does Jing-Mei’s mother do to earn money for the family when Jing-Mei is a child?
(a) She cleans houses
(b) She teaches English
(c) She teaches piano
(d) She cooks at a hotel

11. What does Jing-Mei’s mother trade with Mr. Chong so that Jing-Mei may take piano lessons from him?
(a) Dog-walking services
(b) Medical advice
(c) Home-cooked meals
(d) Housecleaning services

12. 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) 2
(c) 3
(d) 1

13. Where does Jing-Mei find her exercise notes and secondhand music books at the end of the story?
(a) In a notebook in the basement
(b) In the piano bench
(c) In a box in the attic
(d) Under her mother’s bed

14. What is the name of the Schumann piece that Jing-Mei is to play at the talent show?
(a) Perfectly Contended
(b) Anita's Dance
(c) Peter’s Waltz
(d) Pleading Child

15. The Magnuson Act was passed in the year that China became what?
(a) An official ally to the Germans in World War II
(b) An official ally to the U.S. in the Korean War
(c) An official ally to the U.S. in World War I
(d) An official ally to the U.S. in World War II

Short Answer Questions

1. Examine the following sentence from the narrative: “I kept thinking my fingers would adjust themselves back, like a train switching to the right track.” What literary device is used in this example?

2. How does Jing-Mei say she felt every time she saw the piano in her parents’ living room at the end of the story?

3. What musical term in the story refers to the sounding of notes in a chord in rapid succession instead of simultaneously?”

4. Where does Jing-Mei live while growing up?

5. Edvard Grieg is considered one of the leading composers of what era?

(see the answer keys)

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