Vocab. in Context
What does the word astonished mean in paragraph 6?
[6] At the end of the meal my father leaned back and belched loudly, thanking my mother for her fine cooking. “It’s a polite Chinese custom to show you are satisfied,” explained my father to our astonished guests. Robert was looking down at his plate with a reddened face. The minister managed to muster up a quiet burp. I was stunned into silence for the rest of the night.
greatly surprised.
The author most likely wrote this selection to... describe, convince, explain, or demonstrate? Explain your choice.
Describe. STUDENT ANSWERS WILL VARY.
Which word best describes the tone of paragraph 5? Miserable, cheerful, shocked, or proud? How do you know?
She is miserable. "Despair, Robert grimaced, wanted to disappear".
Why does Amy's mother make a traditional Chinese dinner for her daughter and guests?
P7 - Mom understood it was difficult. She likely made her favorite foods to help Amy build pride and confidence in her heritage.
What is the world's largest ocean?
Pacific Ocean
What does the word despair mean as used in paragraph 5? How do you know?
[5] Dinner threw me deeper into despair. My relatives licked the ends of their chopsticks and reached across the table, dipping them into the dozen or so plates of food.
complete loss or without hope
Why did the author most likely include paragraph 4?
[4] And then they arrived — the minister’s family and all my relatives in a clamor of doorbells and rumpled Christmas packages. Robert grunted hello, and I pretended he was not worthy of existence.
To build suspense as the story gets closer to dinner.
What is the tone of the descriptions in paragraph 3? Why does she describe the food this way?
She is highly embarrassed of her culture and how it compares to American culture. The food is a visual reminder of how un-American she feels which causes her to be miserable.
What does she mean in paragraph 8 by "I was able to fully appreciate her lesson?" What does she learn?
When she got older, she learned to appreciate her family and her Chinese American identity.
What day every year is used in remembrance of the day multiple airplanes crashed into buildings in New York, Washington, and Pennslyvania?
September 11th or 9/11
What does the word grimaced mean in paragraph 5?
Robert and his family waited patiently for platters to be passed to them. My relatives murmured with pleasure when my mother brought out the whole steamed fish. Robert grimaced. 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. I wanted to disappear.
ugly, twisted expression on a person's face, usually disgust or pain.
Why did the author most likely include the details in paragraph 5?
[5] Dinner threw me deeper into despair. 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. My relatives murmured with pleasure when my mother brought out the whole steamed fish. Robert grimaced. 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. I wanted to disappear.
To show how her traditional Chinese family compared to Robert's family with their "American" manners.
How does the narrator's embarrassed attitude towards her culture affect the way the describes events in the passage.
She describes the food as foreign and unappealing, her family as noisy, her family as lacking manners.
Why does Amy's mother give her a beige tweed miniskirt?
P7 - "You want to be the same as American girls on the outside." She's trying to help Amy be comfortable now while trying to help her be proud of who she is on the inside.
Which amphibian never sleeps?
Bull frog
What does the word resembled mean in paragraph 3?
[3] On Christmas Eve I saw that my mother had outdone herself in creating a strange menu. She was pulling black veins out of the backs of fleshy prawns. The kitchen was littered with appalling mounds of raw food: A slimy rock cod with bulging eyes that pleaded not to be thrown into a pan of hot oil. Tofu, which looked like stacked wedges of rubbery white sponges. A bowl soaking dried fungus back to life. A plate of squid, their backs crisscrossed with knife markings so they resembled bicycle tires.
qualities or features in common with something else, describing something as looking like something else.
Why does the author include the questions in paragraph 2?
[2] When I found out that my parents had invited the minister’s family over for Christmas Eve dinner, I cried. What would Robert think of our shabby Chinese Christmas? What would he think of our noisy Chinese relatives who lacked proper American manners? What terrible disappointment would he feel upon seeing not a roasted turkey and sweet potatoes but Chinese food?
The questions explain Amy's distress and set the mood for the arrival of their dinner guests.
Which sentence shows a change in Amy's tone and mood in the passage?
P8 - It wasn't until many years later -- long after I had gotten over my crush of Robert -- that I was able to fully appreciate her lesson and the true purpose behind our particular menu."
What does the description of the dinner food menu in paragraph 3 reveal about how the narrator views her family's cultural traditions?
[3] On Christmas Eve I saw that my mother had outdone herself in creating a strange menu. She was pulling black veins out of the backs of fleshy prawns. The kitchen was littered with appalling mounds of raw food: A slimy rock cod with bulging eyes that pleaded not to be thrown into a pan of hot oil. Tofu, which looked like stacked wedges of rubbery white sponges. A bowl soaking dried fungus back to life. A plate of squid, their backs crisscrossed with knife markings so they resembled bicycle tires.
She views them as disgusting. Words like "slimy, fleshy, appalling, bulging, rubbery white sponges, resembling bicycle ties."
973 x 47 =
45,731
What does the word appalling mean in paragraph 3?
[3] On Christmas Eve I saw that my mother had outdone herself in creating a strange menu. She was pulling black veins out of the backs of fleshy prawns. The kitchen was littered with appalling mounds of raw food: A slimy rock cod with bulging eyes that pleaded not to be thrown into a pan of hot oil. Tofu, which looked like stacked wedges of rubbery white sponges. A bowl soaking dried fungus back to life. A plate of squid, their backs crisscrossed with knife markings so they resembled bicycle tires.
causing shock or dismay, horrific
What evidence from the story "Fish Cheeks" best illustrates that the story was written from the perspective of Amy at the age of 14?
STUDENT ANSWERS WILL VARY.
How does the narrator's age during the events (14) affect the tone of the essay?
It is embarrassing and unaccepting of who she is. She let another's culture cause her distress. "I pretended he was not worthy of existence." "Threw me deeper into despair." "I wanted to disappear."
At age 14, how does Amy feel about her Chinese culture?
She is highly embarrassed of their food, their customs (burping, table manners), and how loud they are.
How many bones does a shark have?
0