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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. Jing-Mei is to play a song from what Schumann opus at the talent show?
(a) Butterflies
(b) Scenes from Childhood
(c) Flower Piece
(d) Album for the Young

2. Jing-Mei describes her mother having given her a Bible page to study and then report everything she could remember when she was a child. What does Jing-Mei tell her mother is all she can recall from the passage?
(a) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth
(b) And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose
(c) Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honor in abundance
(d) For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith

3. When Jing-Mei’s mother still lived in China, her husband was serving as an officer where?
(a) Chongqing
(b) Guangzhou
(c) Beijing
(d) Shanghai

4. What word does Jing-Mei use to describe Auntie Lindo’s daughter in the narrative?
(a) Humble
(b) Snotty
(c) Gracious
(d) Voluptuous

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

Short Answer Questions

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

2. During what years did The Ed Sullivan Show air on television?

3. At the talent show where Jing-Mei makes her piano debut, she describes an eleven-year-old boy who won first prize for what performance?

4. When was the Chinese Exclusion Act signed into law?

5. The little girl that Jing-Mei and her mother watch playing piano on The Ed Sullivan Show is said to have what kind of haircut?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Jing-Mei discover about playing the piano as she begins her studies with Mr. Chong?

2. What “transformation” does Jing-Mei undergo while looking into the mirror as a child?

3. How did critics receive The Joy Luck Club and “Two Kinds” upon publication?

4. How are the pressures of immigrant families depicted through the character of Suyuan Woo in “Two Kinds”?

5. What comment does Waverly Jong make to Jing-Mei after her performance at the talent show? How does this make Jing-Mei feel?

6. How does Jing-Mei describe her life as she passed from childhood to adulthood? In what ways does she say she disappointed her mother?

7. What discovery does Jing-Mei make regarding the song she played at the talent show in the end of the story?

8. What cultural similarities can be seen between the author’s childhood and that of Jing-Mei in “Two Kinds”?

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

10. What arrangement is made between Suyuan Woo and Mr. Chong in regards to Jing-Mei’s piano study and practice?

(see the answer keys)

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