Column 1
Who is Nico
Possibly Lucia's husband.
How is Lucia's health?
Lucia's health is poor. (lines 9-14)
What is Lorenzo concerned about in lines 20-21?
Lorenzo is concerned whether Lucia would arrive at his pastry store safely.
Why does Maria need to ask Lucia for a favor?
Because Maria has been working all day and cannot find another birthday cake for her daughter except the one Lucia has ordered. (lines 47-49)
Why doesn't Lorenzo bake a new cake for Maria's daughter?
Because Maria's daughter's birthday party will start in a few minutes. There isn't enough time to bake a new cake. (lines 67-70)
How does Lucia view Maria's situation as a single mother?
Lucia doesn't care. She is indifferent. (lines 92-95)
What does Lucia do with the cake she buys each week?
She doesn't not eat it and throw it away when she buys a new cake on each Saturday. (lines 126-133)
Where do Lucia's children and grandchildren live? Does she see them often?
Lucia's children live in the hills around the city. (lines 134-137)
She doesn't see them often. / Lucia's children rarely visit Lucia. 依据她每周六买蛋糕，但几乎每次都扔掉推断出来。
Why does Lucia get angry when Lorenzo calls her Lucy? (lines 56-60)
Because she thinks Lorenzo is betraying its origin as Italians by calling Lucia Lucy rather than Lucia, which is an Italian name.
Why does Lucia buy the same cake each week?
Because she is waiting for her children and grandchildren to visit her.
In what ways is Lorenzo different from Lucia?
Lorenzo is more open and more friendly towards immigrants from Puerto Rico.
Describe the ways in which Lucia is isolated from her family and her community. How does this influence her behavior?
lines 41-42, Lucia saw Maria's children tearing up the vegetable gardens in the backyards. Lines 45-46, Lucia remembered that it had taken her two days to fix the stakes for her tomato plants. --- From this two events, we can infer that Lucia does not form a connection with her neighbor because after children tore up her vegetable gardens, no one came to help her to restore it. Children probably saw Lucia as an old lonely and weird old woman.
lines 105 Maria asked Lucia, 'Please, Mrs. Ronsavello, take it'. The fact that Maria called Lucia by her last name shows that they are acquaintances （n 熟人）. But Lucia still refused to help Maria. This could possibly explain why Lucia does not get along well with her neighbors.