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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Jing-Mei realize about the song she finds next to the one she played for the talent show at the end of the story?
(a) It is the second half of the same song
(b) It is composed by her mother
(c) It is composed by Mr. Chong
(d) It is the opposite of the previous song

2. What complaint does Jing-Mei’s mother make about the young piano prodigy that she watches on The Ed Sullivan Show?
(a) Play wrong notes and smiles without meaning to
(b) Play wrong notes. Chords are all off
(c) Play note right, but doesn’t sound good! No singing sound
(d) Play not too good, but has character

3. As Jing-Mei sits down to begin her piano solo at the talent show, she envisions whom rushing up to introduce her to everyone on TV?
(a) James Dean
(b) Bob Newhart
(c) Johnny Carson
(d) Ed Sullivan

4. Jing-Mei says of Mr. Chong when she began piano lessons that “he must have been younger than I thought, since he” what?
(a) Had two young children and a young wife
(b) Had no children and was not yet married
(c) Had sisters that were my mother’s age
(d) Lived with his mother and was not yet married

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

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 college does Jing-Mei say she didn’t get into, causing more disappointment for her mother?

3. Who performs first at the talent show where Jing-Mei makes her piano debut?

4. How does Jing-Mei say her academic career ended in “Two Kinds”?

5. Jing-Mei says in the end of the story that she had never asked her mother about her hope, “And that even worse, I never asked her what frightened me the most”. What is the question that so frightened Jing-Mei?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are Suyuan Woo’s views of opportunity in America, as noted by the narrator in the opening of the story?

2. What does Jing-Mei overhear her mother saying about her to Auntie Lindo midway through the story?

3. How does the central conflict of the story begin to manifest in Jing-Mei’s mind following her revelation in the mirror?

4. How does Jing-Mei’s mother look after her performance at the talent show? What does Jing-Mei think as she watches the following performances?

5. How does Jing-Mei describe her performance at the talent show?

6. How does the concept of identity relate centrally to the conflicts in “Two Kinds”?

7. How does Jing-Mei’s mother respond when Jing-Mei refuses to practice piano after the talent show?

8. Describe the narrative style of the story. Who is the narrator and how is her perspective defined?

9. How does Jing-Mei describe the piano at her parents’ house when she returns following her mother’s death?

10. How does Jing-Mei describe Mr. Chong’s history in music? How does she describe her first lessons?

(see the answer keys)

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