Forbidden City

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Chapters 1-6

Reading Check

1. Where are Alex and his father going?

2. What does Alex develop a fascination with after his parents’ separation?

3. Who is Alex and Ted’s guide when they arrive in Beijing?

4. What historical structure does Alex visit with the guide?

5. What does Eddie claim the guide is?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Alex wish his father would realize there are other things in the world than lenses and video cassettes?

2. What is one cultural difference between dining habits in the “West” and those in the “East”?

Paired Resource

What Is a Betacam?

• This 4-minute video describes a Betacam, what it is used for, and how technology has changed.
• What is a Betacam used for? What is the cost of a Betacam? How has technology changed since the time when this piece of equipment was commonly used? How is this video’s content connected to the novel’s theme of Journalistic Integrity as a Means of Democracy?

“The Great Wall of China”

• This article explores the history of the Great Wall of China.
• Why was the Great Wall of China built? How is its construction connected to military history? How long is the Great Wall of China? How is The Great Wall of China related to the novel’s themes of Heroism and Social Responsibility and Western and Eastern Cultural Values?

Chapters 7-11

Reading Check

1.  What makes Alex uneasy about remaining in the hotel in Beijing?

2.  What does Alex choose to enroll in to better understand Chinese culture?

3.  Where is a student demonstration expected to happen after Hu Yao-bang’s death?

4.  Where does Lao Xu take Alex after Alex leaves Tiananmen Square?

5.  What does Lao Xu claim is China’s greatest strength?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What does Alex perceive as his father’s top priority?

2. What evidence supports Alex’s claim that his father is willing to take foolish risks to get the best shot?

Paired Resource

Hu Yao-pang

• This encyclopedia article offers background information on this Chinese political leader.
• How is Hu Yao-pang’s early life described? How did Hu Yao-pang rise to leadership? Why was Hu Yao-pang forced to resign? How is this biography related to the novel’s themes of Heroism and Social Responsibility and Journalistic Integrity as a Means of Democracy?

Chapters 12-17

Reading Check

1. What is Alex’s name for the student he meets in Tiananmen Square?

2. What type of strike do the students form?

3. What has Li Peng declared in response to the student protests?

4. What do Alex, Ted, and Eddie have to be wary of in the press rooms in China?

5. What has been shut down in China, forcing the men to smuggle tapes out of the country?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What differences does Alex identify between his school in Canada and the school he attends in China?

2. What are the three demands of the student protesters at Tiananmen Square?

Paired Resource

“Shanghai May Fourth Movement”

• This article details the beginning of the May Fourth Movement on May 4, 1919, in Chinese history.
• Why were there protests in China on May 4, 1919? Who orchestrated the protests? Where did the protest on May 4 begin? What ultimately forced the Chinese government to act? What was the effect of the strikes on Chinese workers? How is this movement related to the novel’s themes of Heroism and Social Responsibility and Western and Eastern Cultural Values?

Chapters 18-24

Reading Check

1. What surprises Alex about the soldiers who infiltrate the protesting crowd?

2. What are the protesters considered to the state?

3. Where does Alex locate the Chinese military prior to the attack on the protesters?

4. What is Eddie reluctant to report on until he can confirm the truth of it?

5. What do the protesters create and place in the middle of the square?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does Alex compare himself to the protesters?

2. According to the novel, what happens to counter-revolutionaries in China?

Chapters 25-28

Reading Check

1. What do the soldiers do that Alex finds confusing?

2. What do Alex and Lao Xu do to pass the time while Ted and Eddie are at the square?

3. What do the protesters throw under the tanks?

4. Where is Alex taken after he is shot?

5. Approximately how many students and civilians were killed during the protest?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why are the press details regarding the events at Tiananmen Square conflicting?

2. Why is Alex “grounded” and forced to remain in his hotel room?

Paired Resource

“Tiananmen Square Protests”

• This article describes the Tiananmen Square protests, what instigated the protests, and how the Chinese government reacted to them.
• What was the cause of these protests? What challenges faced the Chinese people prior to the protests? What was the reaction of the Chinese government to protesters in Tiananmen Square? How is this article related to the novel’s themes of Heroism and Social Responsibility, Journalistic Integrity as a Means of Democracy, and Western and Eastern Cultural Values?

Chapters 29-32

Reading Check

1. Who is considered the leader of the student group who cares for Alex?

2. Where do the students plan to take Alex?

3. What does Nai-nai give to Alex?

4. What is the sign of the protesting students?

5. What does Alex give PLA officers to end their harassment of Xin-hua?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Alex experience some frustration while he is residing with Nai-nai and the students?

2. What is the students’ one condition for agreeing to help Alex?

Recommended Next Reads

Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chan

• This biography describes the life of three generations of Chinese women as they navigate Chinese politics.
• Shared topics include communism, life in China, and indoctrination.
• Shared themes include Western and Eastern Cultural Values, Journalistic Integrity as a Means of Democracy, and Heroism as Social Responsibility.
• Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China on SuperSummary

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

• This novel is about four Chinese women who immigrate to America and their American-born daughters as they navigate cultural differences.
• Shared topics include cultural understanding, family relationships, and hardship.
• Shared themes include Heroism and Social Responsibility and Western and Eastern Cultural Values.
• The Joy Luck Club on SuperSummary