Joy Luck Club - Selection Test Review

1) In “Two Kinds,” what does the mother hope for her daughter?

• A. a meeting with Ed Sullivan

• B. a way to happiness

• C. a special talent

• D. a good career

Answer explanation

Mrs. Woo believed Jing-mei could be a prodigy. They tried different things to find Jing-mei's "talent" that could make her a genius.

2) Which statement best explains why the daughter in “Two Kinds” develops a negative attitude toward her mother’s quizzes?

• A. She wants to play piano instead of taking tests.

• B. She finds the tests getting harder and harder.

• C. She is not interested in geography or math.

• D. She sees herself disappointing her mother. 

Answer explanation

3) In "Two Kinds", why does the daughter play badly at the talent show? Choose two options. 

• A. She has not been taught well by her teacher, who is deaf. 

• B. She wants Waverly, not herself, to win the talent show. 

• C. She is too nervous to play well in front of an audience.

• D. She does not sincerely try to learn her selected piece.

• E. She does not wish to play well at the talent show.

Answer explanation

4) Which situation most clearly shows an example of people squabbling?

• A. Jose asks Leila for advice on how to fix his bicycle.

• B. Kim and Li fight over who gets to go first up the stairs.

• C. Jamal bores his friends with stories of winning video games.

• D. Ed and Ramón discuss their differing opinions about politics.

Answer explanation

5) Read this passage from “Two Kinds.” Here, Auntie Lindo, Waverly’s mother, is speaking to the narrator’s mother about Waverly.

“She bring home too many trophy,” lamented Auntie Lindo that Sunday. “All day she play chess. All day I have no time do nothing but dust off her winnings.”

Which statements best describe what this passage reveals about the characters and their situation? Choose all that apply.

• A. Auntie Lindo is jealous that the narrator also has trophies.

• B. Auntie Lindo likes to show off Waverly's accomplishments.

• C. Auntie Lindo likes to show off Waverly's accomplishments.

• D. Auntie Lindo and the narrator's mother compete over their children.

• E. Auntie Lindo thinks it is fine to brag if she pretends to be complaining.

6) Part A
In “Two Kinds,” the mother arranges for the daughter to have piano lessons. The daughter gives the following response.

“Why don’t you like me the way I am? I’m not a genius!”

Based on this quotation, choose what the daughter most likely believes.

• A. If her mother wants her to develop a talent, then her mother must realize that she is not a genius. 

• B. If her mother wants her to develop a talent, then her mother must not value her as she is.

• C. Because she is not a genius, she does not deserve her mother’s efforts to improve her.

• D. Because she is not a genius, she must work even harder than other people do to succeed.

6) Part B
Which additional quotation from “Two Kinds” best supports the answer to Part A?

• A. In all of my imaginings, I was filled with a sense that I would soon become perfect.

• B. It was as if I knew, without a doubt, that the prodigy side of me really did exist. I had no fear whatsoever, no nervousness.

• C. I felt the shame of my mother and father as they sat stiffly throughout the rest of the show.

• D. “You want me to be someone that I’m not!” I sobbed. “I’ll never be the kind of daughter you want me to be!

7) Part A
Which statement best sums up the theme, or message, of “Two Kinds”?

• A. A happy family requires obedient children.

• B. Determination is more important than genius.

• C. Accepting oneself can be more important than success.

• D. A parent’s expectations inspire a child’s achievements.

7) Part B
Which quotation from “Two Kinds” best supports the answer to Part A?

• A. “Of course you can be prodigy, too,” my mother told me when I was nine. “You can be best anything.”

• B. “Only two kinds of daughters,” she shouted in Chinese. “Those who are obedient and those who follow their own mind.”

• C. For unlike my mother, I did not believe I could be anything I wanted to be. I could only be me.

• D. A few years ago, she offered to give me the piano, for my thirtieth birthday. I had not played in all those years.