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WorksheetsWilshire Bus
Total questions: 11
Worksheet time: 22mins
The man on the bus is described as somatotonic . What is the meaning of the underlined word?
Racist and opinionated
Clownish and loud
Abusive and annoying
Aggressive and extroverted
Based on your reading, what is Esther's nationality?
Chinese
Japanese
Korean
African American
Why does Esther infer that the man is probably drunk?
He freely discusses the negatives of a famous sporting figure.
He freely expresses his racial biases.
He drops a bottle of alcohol on the bus's floor.
He tells the bus of people he came from the bar.
Why does Esther convince herself that she's immune from the man's racist comments are not directed at her?
Because she's caucasian.
Because she doesn't challenge him.
Because he doesn't address her race specifically.
Because Esther is sitting several seats away from the man.
What does the reader learn about Esther's life during the war?
She worked in a factory making parts for planes.
She was in a concentration camp.
She owned a restaurant that is now closed.
She was a nurse in a segregated hospital.
As the somatotonic man exits the bus, what does he do?
He vomits up his alcohol.
He asks the bus driver to remove non-white passengers.
He stumbles and falls on a passenger.
He shouts one last racial insult.
How does Esther know the woman sitting next to her is upset?
Esther feels the woman's body tense up.
The woman begins to sob at the insults.
The woman shouts at the man to "stop!".
The woman tells Esther she hates the man.
Questions 8 & 9 refer to this passage: "'I want you to know...that [w]e don't all feel the way he does. We believe in an America that is a melting pot of all sorts of people.'"
To whom does the pronoun "we" refer?
Everyone on the Wilshire bus.
The man and his family.
Most white Americans.
Former soldiers who fought in WWII.
Before making his speech to the riders on the bus, the author describes the man's speech as "clumsy." Why might the man's speech be described in such a way.
The man doesn't adequately know how to express his feelings.
The man only speaks English and is unsure whether he's being understood.
The man is uncomfortable interacting with different races.
The man is relatively shy and is fearful of speaking to strangers.
At the end of the story, the author writes, "These words repeated themselves until her saving detachment was gone every bit and she was filled once again in her life with the infuriatingly helpless, insidiously sickening sensation of there being nothing solid she could put her finger on, nothing solid she could come to grips with, nothing solid she could sink her teeth into, nothing solid."
Why does the author repeat the phrase "nothing solid"?
to show that she's "nothing" to the other people on the bus.
to reinforce the ever-changing racial landscape of America.
to emphasize that she did the right thing by remaining quiet.
to demonstrate Esther's isolation as a minority in America.
At the end of the story, Esther bursts into tears as a result of her "moral shabbiness." What do the tears reveal about her?
She's angry that the Chinese woman did not accept her attempts to console her.
She's exhausted from the racism she witnessed.
She realizes that even ethnic communities discriminate against one another.
She's relieved that her husband's health is improving and he'll soon return home,
