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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. About what is Chen thinking as he returns to his home?

2. How many times has Shen Ding taken the provincial exam before this time?

3. What does Shen Ding's note to Chen say?

4. Who is the third son in the family?

5. What happens to exams with poor handwriting?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Hong's match turn out?

2. What surprises Hong when the boys leave on their journey and how does Chen feel about it?

3. What has Hong heard about locust, what is his concern and how does Chen respond to that concern?

4. What happens as the brothers leave Ma's home?

5. What test taker treats the brothers to tea and what does he tell Chen about the examination?

6. What talent does Chen have and at what age does this talent show?

7. What does Hong do while Chen is taking his exam?

8. From where is Chen returning on a cart and on what is he thinking?

9. What did Chen need in order to take the first examination and how did he get it?

10. How is the truth of the brothers decided?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the following:

1. Who is/are the protagonists of "The Examination" and why?

2. Who is/are the antagonists of "The Examination" and why?

3. Which 3 secondary characters have the greatest impact on the plot of "The Examination"?

4. Are any of the characters dispensable and which ones? Why or why not?

5. Do you think this is a character-driven plot or an action-driven plot? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

Most protagonists are a mixture of admirable traits and character flaws, and Lao Chen is no exception. Discuss the following:

1. Trace and analyze situations when Chen demonstrates his prodigious powers intellect. Give specific examples to illustrate your analysis.

2. Trace and analyze Chen's character flaws offering specific examples of these flaws in your discussion.

3. Discuss how you think Chen's admirable traits helped him obtain a high position in the government despite his background as a child. Have his flaws impacted his career at all? Do any of those around him seem to notice these flaws? Who? How does the reader know this?

Essay Topic 3

Bosse has tried as much as possible to use historical events and facts around which to weave his work of fiction. Discuss the following:

1. Do you think this book qualifies as an historical fiction? Why or why not?

2. If much of the events in the book are historical, what surprises you about the way the events play out?

3. Do you think the culture of that era is more or less advanced than you imagined? Explain.

(see the answer keys)

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