'I ask my mother to sing' by Li-Young Lee

Which of the following identifies a theme of the poem?

• Recounting one’s family history can be both pleasant and painful.

• The past is best left alone.

• It is important to know your family history.

• It is impossible to move on without addressing the past.

How do lines 5-9 contribute to the development of the theme of the poem? RL.5

• They prove how beautiful and exciting Beijing is.

• They show that the speaker wishes he had experienced China.

• They describe how impressive the Summer Palace is.

• They show much the narrator misses Beijing.

In line 1, the pronoun “she” refers to the

• poet.

• grandmother.

• young girl.

• mother in the title.

In line 2, “mother” refers to the

• poet.

• grandmother in the poem.

• young girl.

• mother in the title.

Where does the poem most likely take place?

• the United States

• Peking

• on Kuen Ming lake

• on a boat

In line 11, the phrase “spilling water into water” describes

• the mirroring effect of water in a lake.

• raindrops falling into waterlilies.

• water pouring from a waterlily into a lake.

• raindrops falling into a lake.

Why might the father “play his accordion and sway like a boat?”

• the song gives him hope for the future

• the song reminds him of tragic events in the past

• he misses his family

• the song reminds him of fond memories

What is the purpose of lines 10-13?

• to introduce a new character

• to emphasize the importance of water to his family

• to describe an image from the song

• to describe what the speaker is seeing

Which of the following details supports a tone of nostalgia in the poem?

• the mother and daughter sang like young girls

• waterlilies filled with rain

• the picnickers ran away

• the poet begins to cry

What is most likely the reason why the speaker asks his mother to sing?

• because he likes his mother’s voice

• because he can’t sing himself

• because he likes to hear about Kuen Ming lake

• because his father isn’t alive anymore