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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 says in the beginning of “Two Kinds,” “My mother believed you could be anything you wanted to be in America. You could open” what?
(a) A clothing store
(b) A hair salon
(c) A factory
(d) A restaurant

2. 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) 5
(b) 12
(c) 2
(d) 3

3. What does Mr. Chong live in relation to Jing-Mei’s family when she’s growing up?
(a) On the top floor of the apartment building
(b) Next door to Jing-Mei’s apartment on the second floor
(c) In the basement of the apartment building
(d) On the first floor of the apartment building

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

5. Jing-Mei soon learns after beginning her piano lessons with Mr. Chong that he is deaf. He compares himself to what composer, saying “We’re both listening only in our head”?
(a) Beethoven
(b) Mozart
(c) Chopin
(d) Berlioz

Short Answer Questions

1. When was Edvard Grieg born?

2. How long ago has Jing-Mei’s mother died when she sends the tuner to recondition the piano at the end of the story?

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

4. Jing-Mei is surprised after her “talent-show fiasco” that her mother did not do what?

5. What is the name of Jing-Mei’s mother in “Two Kinds”?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. What does Jing-Mei say in defense of the performer on the Ed Sullivan Show when she is criticized by her mother? How does this defense backfire?

5. How does the narrative style in “Two Kinds” shift throughout the story? Why does it shift?

6. What does Jing-Mei discover about Mr. Chong’s disabilities as she studies with him? How does this discovery influence her actions?

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

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

9. How does Jing-Mei describe the process of playing scales for Mr. Chong?

10. How does Jing-Mei respond to her mother’s comment about her to Auntie Lindo? What foreshadowing follows this scene?

(see the answer keys)

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