Question

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.

Which Chinese cultural value is revealed by the passage?

obedience
self-controlRead 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.

Which Chinese cultural value is revealed by the passage?

obedience
self-control
love of family
good reputation
love of family
good reputation

Answer 1

Good reputation.

The girl’s “proudly modest” behavior and careful curtsy emphasize concern with proper, respectable public behavior—reflecting the Chinese cultural value of maintaining a good reputation (saving face), rather than obedience, family love, or simply self-control.