Why I Lied About Knowing Karate - Reading Quiz

​Why I Lied About Knowing Karate

By Christen Ellrich

​Interactive Reading "Quiz"
(It's not really a quiz)

#1 What does this excerpt reveal about Jabeen?

Later that night, I picked through my closet selecting an outfit for the feature. I wanted to look stylish, but not trying-too-hard. Acid-washed jeans rolled at the ankle. A black top with green stitching at the collar, silver hoop earrings. Black pleather Oxfords from Payless.

Poll

This excerpt shows that Jabeen...

• ...is going to a ‘90s-themed costume party later that evening

• ...hopes to fit in with her peers by dressing in cool, Americanized outfits

• ...cares deeply about her appearance

• ...is extremely meticulous in all aspects of her behavior

#2 What is the most likely meaning of lacquered here?

Mary Lynn entered the hallway, her wall of freshly lacquered bangs holding steadfast as she shuffled past us towards her boyfriend’s locker.

Poll

Based on the context, lacquered means...

• trimmed

• frizzy

• brown

• slicked down

#3 How does this passage add to the development of the essay?

I nodded along as Anna spoke, pulling textbooks from my backpack and stacking them in my locker where the poetry collection I had written for third period English sat visibly on the bottom shelf. ... Below it was the subheading, “Death to Spies.” It was 1990, and though the Cold War had recently smashed into pieces, wall by wall, mallet by mallet, we still spoke its language.

Multiple Choice

How does paragraph 5 add to the essay's development?

• It shows that Jabeen wants to be a poet when she grows up

• It shows that Jabeen is friends with Anna

• It supports that this passage takes place in 1990

• It reveals that Russian spies are an active concern among students

#4 Which statement would the author (Jabeen) agree with?

A. The children of immigrants can learn to achieve great things in American society if they work hard enough.
B. In school and in life, honesty is always the best policy—no matter what you might be feeling at the moment.
C. Coming of age frequently presents situations more complex than simply “right” or “wrong” decisions.
D. Karate is an honorable practice that should be taken seriously.

Multiple Choice

Jabeen would most likely agree that...

• Immigrant children can achieve great things if they work hard.

• Honest is the best policy, no matter what.

• Growing up involves complex situations, not just right/wrong

• Karate is honorable; take it seriously.

#5 Which inference is best supported by paragraph 24?

What would my father say? He was already unhappy with my struggles in school, unhappy with how I was turning out. He’d leave newspaper clippings of child prodigies on my desk in my room. The last one had been about an Indian boy in California who was able to do calculus at age 4, graduated college at 12 and was on his way to becoming the world’s youngest doctor at 17. Maybe my father thought it would serve as inspiration. Look at this boy. Look how exceptional he is. You can be like him

Multiple Choice

Jabeen's father...

• ...wants her to have a successful, lucrative career.

• ...is very disappointed that she isn't living up to his expectations.

• ...wishes the Indian boy in the news article was his son.

• ...wishes he had become a doctor.

#6 Her father wants her to have a successful and financially lucrative career. Which line best supports this inference?

What would my father say? He was already unhappy with my struggles in school, unhappy with how I was turning out. He’d leave newspaper clippings of child prodigies on my desk in my room. The last one had been about an Indian boy in California who was able to do calculus at age 4, graduated college at 12 and was on his way to becoming the world’s youngest doctor at 17. Maybe my father thought it would serve as inspiration. Look at this boy. Look how exceptional he is. You can be like him

Multiple Choice

#6 Her father wants her to have a successful and financially lucrative career.

Which line best supports this inference?

• “He was already unhappy with my struggles in school, unhappy with how I was turning out.”

• “He’d leave newspaper clippings of child prodigies on my desk in my room.”

• “The last one had been about an Indian boy in California who could do calculus at age 4, graduated college at 12, on his way to becoming the world’s youngest doctor at 17.”

• “Maybe my father thought it would serve as inspiration. Look at this boy. Look how exceptional he is. You can be like him.”

#7 Which inference is best supported by paragraph 30?

I was an average student — C’s mostly, sometimes skating by with a B minus. I would never make the cut for “Most Likely to Succeed.” I was too short, my hands were bony, my lips were too big, and my eyebrows were too thick, so no chance for “Best Looking.” Boys weren’t interested in me, so “Best Looking Couple” or “Best Dressed Couple” or any iteration of “couple” was out. I told myself it was just the popular kids voting for each other in those categories anyway. It would carry on decades later in the corporate world over promotions and million-dollar hedge funds.

Multiple Choice

Which inference is best supported by that paragraph?

• Jabeen didn’t try to get good grades or make friends in school.

• Jabeen has felt excluded at various points in her life.

• Jabeen hated all of the other kids at her school.

• Jabeen wanted to wait until she was older to have a boyfriend.

#8 What is the most likely meaning of coveted here?

Maybe my father thought exceptionality wasn’t asking too much of me. We belonged to a coveted brand of immigrants — educated, hard-working and productive. The type of immigrants America loves. The type who come here from what white people often understand to be primitive third-world jungles and become doctors at 17.

Multiple Choice

Maybe my father thought exceptionality wasn’t asking too much of me. We belonged to a coveted brand of immigrants — educated, hard-working and productive. The type of immigrants America loves.

• jealousy or envy

• thirsty, parched

• in perfect condition

• desirable or wanted

Poll

Should these scores go in the gradebook??

• NO! 🙅🏽👎🏽🚫 I didn't score as well as I hoped...

• YESSIR! 👍🏼🫡✅ PUT THAT GRADE IN