The All-American Slurp by Lensey Namioka

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The All-American SlurpbyLensey Namioka

• Review

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1. What is a conclusion?

• A decision or an opinion you reach by drawing
  together details in a text.

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2. What is a theme?

• An important idea or message that the author
  wants to convey.

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3. Describe the way in which each Lin family
member learns English.

• The narrator worries a lot and takes care to
  speak correctly. Her brother learns English from
  his friends and speaks quickly, although not
  expertly. The father is scientific about learning
  English and is proud of his mastery of verb
  forms. The mother memorizes lists of polite
  phrases.

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4. What does each persons way of learning
English show about his or her
personality?

• The narrator is concerned about what people will
  think about her. The brother is more concerned
  about communicating with friends than with
  speaking perfect English. The father is proud of
  his English. The mother is not as confident as
  the father but tries to be polite.

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5. How do the Lins embarrass themselves at
the restaurant?

• They slurp their soup.

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6. Compare In what ways are the Gleasons
actions at the Lins house similar
to those of the Lins at the Gleasons house?

• Both families struggle to adapt to the others
  way of eating both are coping as well as
  possible under the circumstances.

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7. What theme about cultural differences
does the story illustrate?

• People from different cultures may have different
  customs, but they may also have many things in
  common.

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8. What details or events support the theme?

• Chinese people slurp soup, Americans slurp
  milkshakes both families learned about different
  customs when they visited each others homes.

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9. How does the narrator feel the first time
her family eats raw celery?

• The narrator is embarrassed.

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10. What happens when the Lins eat celery?

• Everyone stares as the Lins eat celery.

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11. How does Meg make the narrator feel
better after the dinner party at the
Gleasons house?

• Meg mentions that her mother doesnt plan for
  parties and just hopes for the best.

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12. Why does the narrator think her
brother is adjusting better to
American life than she is?

• He is making friends easily.

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13. Which of the Lins fits in first with
American culture?

• The narrators brother fits in first.

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14. What problem do the Lins try to
overcome in the story?

• The Lins family tries to fit in by adjusting to
  American customs.

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15. What does the narrator discover when
she drinks a milkshake with Meg?

• The narrator discovers that Americans slurp when
  drinking milkshakes.

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16. What does the narrator learn about
slurping?

• The narrator learns that Americans and Chinese
  both slurp in some situations.

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17. Contrast What is the difference
between the way that the Gleasons
eat and the way that the Lins eat?

• The Gleasons pile food on their plates and mix
  the foods. The Lins eat one type of food at a
  time.

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18. What lesson about life does the
narrator learn?

• The narrator learns how to fit in to new
  surroundings and that Americans and Chinese are
  not as different as she first thought. First, she
  learns that Americans eat raw celery and that
  slurping soup is considered bad manners in the
  United States. Although Chinese people slurp
  soup, Americans slurp milkshakes. Second, the
  narrator wants to wear jeans as the other girls
  do. She wants to understand American ways and fit
  in. Finally, she understands that the Gleasons
  are unfamiliar with Chinese eating customs and
  realizes that everyone has new experiences that
  can be embarrassing and that everyone has
  feelings. She is learning to be more accepting of
  others and of herself.

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19. Emigrated

• Left one country to settle in another

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20. Smugly

• In a way that shows satisfaction to oneself

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21. Systematic

• Orderly

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22. Etiquette

• Acceptable social manners

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23. Consumption

• Eating drinking using up

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THE END