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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What color cloth covered the windows where Qian's mother started to work in Chapter 5?

2. How long were the shifts at the sweatshop in Chapter 5?

3. How long before Qian and her mother went to America did her father go?

4. In Chapter 6, where does Qian spend lunch her first day of school?

5. What did Qian score on her first spelling test in Chapter 6?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 6, when and why did Qian stop believing her father?

2. What happened the first time that Qian and her mother went grocery shopping after her father left?

3. What job did Qian's father get in Chapter 8?

4. What does Qian say about arriving in the United States and her life there in "How It Began"?

5. What did Qian's mother suffer from when traveling, and when was her sickness particularly bad?

6. How did Qian discover Chatham Square?

7. What would Qian's family eat on Sundays?

8. What did Qian buy for a secret Santa gift in Chapter 9, and how was it received?

9. How did Qian get transferred back to her first classroom when she was moved to a classroom for special needs children?

10. What happened to Wang Lao Shi's eldest brother?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How did the Wangs’ lives in the U.S. compare to their lives in China? Why were the Wangs not able to use their education to make better lives for themselves?

Essay Topic 2

Qian’s parents had to work menial jobs in New York City. Why did Qian’s parents have to work menial jobs? How did working these jobs affect their sense of self and identity?

Essay Topic 3

Qian’s father always tried to avoid embarrassment. Why did he always try to avoid embarrassment? What did saving face have to do with his efforts? Why was it important to him not to lose face?

(see the answer keys)

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