The Emperor and the Assassin

Why did Prince Dan and Jing Ke want to kill King Zheng?

• A. to prevent Zheng from finding the secret to everlasting life

• B. to keep Zheng from conquering the state of Yan

• C. to help Yan’s leader conquer other states during the Warring States Period

• D. to get revenge for the murder of Fan Wuji’s family

Which word best describes Jing’s state of mind as he faced Zheng?

• A. desperate

• B. determined

• C. relaxed

• D. suspicious

Which of these happened first?

• A. The Han Dynasty began.

• B. Zheng gave himself the title First Emperor of Qin.

• C. Prince Dan came up with a plan to kill Zheng.

• D. The Warring States Period ended.

What saved Zheng in his fight with Jing?

• A. Jing dropped his poisoned dagger.

• B. Zheng’s doctor stunned Jing by throwing a medicine bag at him.

• C. Zheng drew his sword immediately.

• D. Zheng’s guards stopped Jing.

Why were Zheng’s victories in the Warring States Period important to history?

• A. They created the first unified China.

• B. They started a dynasty that would last 10,000 generations.

• C. They reunited the territory of the Han Dynasty.

• D. They ended fighting in China for the next 400 years.

In the first sentence on page 20, what does "paranoid" mean?

• A. extremely forgetful

• B. aggressively mean

• C. unreasonably distrustful

• D. very sad

When Yuri Pines says that the First Emperor “created order out of chaos,” what does "chaos" mean?

• A. complete confusion and disorder

• B. a general sense of happiness

• C. a slight disagreement

• D. a state of harsh government control

Which statement is an opinion?

• A. The First Emperor laid the foundations of a unified society.

• B. Activists in China have claimed Jing as a hero.

• C. Jing is more worthy of being called a hero than Zheng.

• D. People disagree about whether Zheng or Jing should be more celebrated.

Which detail would be most important to include in a summary of the article?

• A. Fan Wuji was a general who deserted Qin’s army.

• B. The First Emperor may have accidentally poisoned himself.

• C. After killing Jing, Zheng took over Yan and all the warring states.

• D. Today, 1.4 billion people live in China.

According to the sidebar on page 20, experts think China will ____ by 2030.

• A. become a democracy

• B. no longer have the largest population

• C. solve climate change

• D. have the world’s top economy