WorksheetsAsian American Unit
Total questions: 35
Worksheet time: 23mins
Which is a theme of the story?
Don't let others get too close to your heart.
Friendship is important to young people.
Love can cause us to do foolish things.
Be proud of who you are.
What can you infer about the minister’s family in this story?
They are embarrassed and shocked by the behavior of the narrator’s relatives at dinner.
They are comfortable eating with people of different backgrounds and cultures.
They are allergic to the exotic food being served by the narrator’s mother.
They are excited to have the opportunity to try new and different foods for Christmas.
Which piece of evidence best supports your inference about the minister's family?
“Robert and their family waited patiently for platters to be passed to them" (1).
“Robert was looking at his plate with a reddened face" (1).
“‘It’s a polite Chinese custom to show you are satisfied,’ explained my father” (1).
“I knew that she understood how much I had suffered during the evening’s dinner" (1).
How is the character of Amy affected by her culture?
Her Chinese relatives and the unique food on the menu make her feel uncomfortable in her own home.
Her father’s behavior at dinner makes her wish she had been born into a different family.
She desperately wishes to appear more American, so she feels better when her mother gives her the skirt.
She is proud of her home and happy to have guests over for dinner, making her feel confident
What does the tweed skirt represent?
Chinese culture
American culture
Amy's freedom
Japanese culture
Which line best shows the difference between Amy's family and Robert’s family?
"Robert grunted hello, and I pretended he was not worthy of existence" (1).
"My relatives licked the ends of their chopsticks and reached across the table, dipping them into the dozen or so plates of food. Robert and his family waited patiently for platters to be passed to them" (1).
"Then my father poked his chopsticks just below the fish eye and plucked out the soft meat. "Amy, your favorite," he said, offering me the tender fish cheek" (1).
"And then they arrived – the minister's family and all my relatives in a clamor of doorbells and rumpled Christmas packages" (1).
Compared to Mona, the narrator is:
loving
comical
stubborn
forgiving
agreeable
How did the speaker's family react when their friend Mrs. Lee began her job as a waitress?
They were excited to have her serve them when they ate at the restaurant where she worked.
They felt sorry for her that she had to work and couldn't stay home instead.
They thought that waitressing was an embarrassing job and she should be doing something else.
They hoped that she would be able to let them know when the great sales were beginning at the A&P where she worked.
How do the speaker and Mona see their situation differently?
The speaker is excited that her mother is working while Mona is embarrassed by it.
Each believes she is a better piano player than the other.
The speaker thinks her father should support the family on his own, while Mona thinks her mom should work and her dad should be a househusband.
The speaker sees her family as still very much Chinese, while Mona doesn't see them as different from the Americans they live among.
The speaker and Mona walk to their piano lessons because...
It is a beautiful sunny day, and they are thankful for the opportunity to be outside.
Their mother is working, and so she is unable to take them like she used to.
Because they misbehaved in the car, their parents have said they must now walk instead of riding.
Miss Crossman lives just across the street, so it's not a big deal to walk to her house.
Which two words best describe Mona?
Innocent and content
Anxious and afraid
Curious and eager
Frustrated and disappointed
What mistake in judgment did the speaker make?
She assumed her mother was working with Mrs. Lee at the restaurant.
She didn't realize her parents weren't really Chinese.
She thought the weather was supposed to be warm rather than raining.
She thought Eugenie had left her umbrella at Miss Crossman's.
Why does the narrator tell Miss Crosman that her mother is a concert pianist?
She wants to impress Miss Crosman.
Her mother used to be a concert pianist.
She wants to be a concert pianist.
Her mother is as good as a concert pianist.
Why does the narrator throw the umbrella away?
Her mother tells her that she doesn’t need it.
She doesn’t need it now that it stopped raining.
She realizes how important her mother is to her.
She doesn’t want to reveal that Miss Crosman gave it to her.
What is the point of view of the narrator?
1st person
2nd person
3rd person
None of the above
1. Who is Miss Crosman?
A piano teacher
A singing coach
A speech teacher
An English tutor
Read the following excerpt from the
selection:
The umbrella glowed like a scepter on the blue carpet …
What type of figurative language is used?
Onomatopoeia
Metaphor
Simile
Personification
1. Which of the following is most likely the reason the mother is late to pick up her two daughters from piano practice?
She is resting from working all day
The bad weather is making her late
She is working
None of the above
We can best characterize Miss Crosman as —
caring
ignorant
intelligent
mature
1. What does the narrator do with her new umbrella?
She gives it to her mother
She throws it in a sewer
She gives it to the man crossing the street
She gives it to her sister
Which of the following would be the most appropriate theme for the text?
Umbrellas always bring trouble
Safe driving is important
People are more important than
things
Sisters should always take care
of each other
What detail adds to the mood of the story?
rainy weather
the piano music
the white umbrella
the mother's work history
What does the narrator realize at the end of the story?
how much she loves her mother
that having a job has not changed her mother
how embarrassing her mother was
that her mother will never be like Miss Crosman
"When I was twelve, my mother went to work without telling us."
What is the point of view of the narrator?
1st person
3rd person limited
3rd person omniscient
Jason sits alone at recess because he
hates the games American children play
does not understand how to play the games
prefers to be by himself
What can you infer about the speaker from the following quote, I spent the next decade wanting nothing more
than to look like a Larry Lorberbaum or a Garrett
Kennedy?"
He desperately wants to fit in.
He wants to be famous.
He hates the way he looks.
He has just moved to America and doesn't know any famous people yet.
"I spent most days at recess sitting alone on the sidelines." Why does the speaker sit alone?
He prefers to be alone and even told his teacher this.
He has not yet made friends and is not familiar with the cutlure.
He is waiting his turn to play dodgeball.
He is not sitting alone in the article.
What can we BEST infer from the following quote, "All of a sudden, being different was an asset, not a risk."
He has finally grown to appreciate being different.
He is still struggling to fit in, even as an adult.
He struggled with his identity long after school was over.
He gets a lot of attention for being different.
Why might the author have ended the article with this quote, "I could just be ashamed about
everything else in my life?"
He is emphasizing how difficult his life has been.
He is indicating that he is still ashamed of his Asian heritage.
He is declaring that he wishes he were still in Korea.
He is using sarcasm (joke) to end on a "light" note.
