AnswersCommon Core ELA 10 A - AberdeenAnalyzing Word Choice and Author’s Purpose in Short Stories

Character and Culture in Literature Answers

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1
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Read the passage from "Two Kinds.”Last week I sent a tuner over to my parents’ apartment and had the piano reconditioned, for purely sentimental reasons. My mother had died a few months before and I had been getting things in order for my father, a little bit at a time. I put the jewelry in special silk pouches. The sweaters she had knitted in yellow, pink, bright orange—all the colors I hated—I put those in moth-proof boxes. I found some old Chinese silk dresses, the kind with little slits up the sides. I rubbed the old silk against my skin, then wrapped them in tissue and decided to take them home with me.

A
“Last week I sent a tuner over to my parents’ apartment and had the piano reconditioned, for purely sentimental reasons.”
B
“My mother had died a few months before and I had been getting things in order for my father, a little bit at a time.”
C
“I put the jewelry in special silk pouches. The sweaters she had knitted in yellow, pink, bright orange—all the colors I hated—I put those in moth-proof boxes.”
D
“I found some old Chinese silk dresses, the kind with little slits up the sides.”
2
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Read the passage from "Two Kinds.”I could see why my mother was fascinated by the music. It was being pounded out by a little Chinese girl, about nine years old, with a Peter Pan haircut. The girl had the sauciness of a Shirley Temple. She was proudly modest like a proper Chinese Child. And she also did this fancy sweep of a curtsy, so that the fluffy skirt of her white dress cascaded slowly to the floor like the petals of a large carnation.

A
obedience
B
self-control
C
love of family
D
good reputation
3

Read the first three paragraphs of "Two Kinds.”My mother believed you could be anything you wanted to be in America. You could open a restaurant. You could work for the government and get good retirement. You could buy a house with almost no money down. You could become rich. You could become instantly famous."Of course you can be a prodigy, too," my mother told me when I was nine. "You can be best anything. What does Auntie Lindo know? Her daughter, she is only best tricky."America was where all my mother's hopes lay. She had come here in 1949 after losing everything in China: her mother and father, her family home, her first husband, and two daughters, twin baby girls. But she never looked back with regret. There were so many ways for things to get better.

A
acceptance
B
independence
C
self-expression
D
self-fulfillment
4

Which statements are true of external conflicts? Select three options.

A
They propel the plot of a story.
B
They release tensions in a story.
C
They take place between two characters in a story.
D
They happen when a character is at odds with society.
E
They occur when characters feel uncertain about what they want.
5

Which excerpts from "Two Kinds” are examples of internal conflict? Select two options.

A
“America was where all my mother's hopes lay. She had come here in 1949 after losing everything in China: her mother and father, her family home, her first husband, and two daughters, twin baby girls. But she never looked back with regret. There were so many ways for things to get better.”
B
“In all of my imaginings, I was filled with a sense that I would soon become perfect. My mother and father would adore me. I would be beyond reproach. I would never feel the need to sulk for anything.”
C
“Before going to bed that night, I looked in the mirror above the bathroom sink and when I saw only my face staring back—and that it would always be this ordinary face—I began to cry. Such a sad, ugly girl! I made high-pitched noises like a crazed animal, trying to scratch out the face in the mirror.”
D
“My mother slapped me. ‘Who ask you be genius?’ she shouted. ‘Only ask you be your best. For you sake. You think I want you to be genius? Hnnh! What for! Who ask you!’“‘So ungrateful,’ I heard her mutter in Chinese, ‘If she had as much talent as she has temper, she would be famous now.’”
E
“So maybe I never really gave myself a fair chance. I did pick up the basics pretty quickly, and I might have become a good pianist at that young age. But I was so determined not to try, not to be anybody different that I learned to play only the most ear-splitting preludes, the most discordant hymns.”
6

Which scenario is an example of intrinsic motivation?

A
Yannick always studies until midnight because good grades make him happy.
B
Kimi fixed Gordon’s tablet in exchange for a copy of his notes from math class.
C
Evan noticed the flashing lights in his rearview mirror and pulled over to the curb.
D
Marileta bought a $20 gift card for Rick after drawing his name in the office holiday party.
7

Which cultural differences are revealed through this conflict? Select two options.

A
The daughter resents being asked to work hard all the time, which her mother sees as laziness.
B
The daughter does not value talent or intelligence, whereas her mother believes that they are the two most important qualities a person can have.
C
The daughter wants to be valued for what she is, while the mother believes that the girl should always strive to be more.
D
The daughter believes that her mother should accept and love her, but the mother believes that she should help her daughter succeed.
E
The daughter thinks that her parents owe her love and support, but the mother thinks that the daughter owes them gratitude for providing for her.
8

The term internal conflict refers to a struggle between a character and

A
nature.
B
society.
C
him- or herself.
D
another character.
9

Which statement best explains the cultural conflict that occurs between the mother and the daughter in "Two Kinds”?

A
The mother has moved to the United States from China and wants to leave Chinese traditions behind, but the daughter clings to her roots in China.
B
The mother and daughter have moved from China to the United States, and both feel drawn to Chinese cultural values, customs, and styles of clothing.
C
The mother has moved to the United States from China and wants to preserve the Chinese family structure, but the daughter wants independence like a US teenager.
D
The mother and daughter experience a generation gap in that the narrator’s mother wants her to excel at school, but the daughter just wants to watch television.
10

Read the passage from "Two Kinds.”"You want me to be something that I’m not!” I sobbed. "I’ll never be the kind of daughter you want me to be!”"Only two kinds of daughters,” she shouted in Chinese. "Those who are obedient and those who follow their own mind! Only one kind of daughter can live in this house. Obedient daughter!”

A
the Chinese value that children should obey their parents
B
the US value that children should be what their parents choose
C
the Chinese value that parents should encourage independence in children
D
the US value that parents should allow their children to lead independent lives

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