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Know the News: The Emperor
and the Assassin
1. Why did Prince Dan and Jing Ke want to kill
King Zheng?
A to prevent Zheng from finding the secret to
everlasting life
B to keep Zheng from conquering the state
of Yan
C to help Yan’s leader conquer other states
during the Warring States Period
D to get revenge for the murder of Fan Wuji’s
family
2. Which word best describes Jing’s state of mind
as he faced Zheng?
A desperate
B determined
C relaxed
D suspicious
3. Which of these happened first?
A The Han Dynasty began.
B Zheng gave himself the title First Emperor
of Qin.
C Prince Dan came up with a plan to kill Zheng.
D The Warring States Period ended.
4. What saved Zheng in his fight with Jing?
A Jing dropped his poisoned dagger.
B Zheng’s doctor stunned Jing by throwing a
medicine bag at him.
C Zheng drew his sword immediately.
D Zheng’s guards stopped Jing.
5. Why were Zheng’s victories in the Warring States
Period important to history?
A They created the first unified China.
B They started a dynasty that would last 10,000
generations.
C They reunited the territory of the Han Dynasty.
D They ended fighting in China for the next
400 years.
6. In the first sentence on page 20, what does
paranoid mean?
A extremely forgetful
B aggressively mean
C unreasonably distrustful
D very sad
7. When Yuri Pines says that the First Emperor
“created order out of chaos,” what does
chaos mean?
A complete confusion and disorder
B a general sense of happiness
C a slight disagreement
D a state of harsh government control
8. Which statement is an opinion?
A The First Emperor laid the foundations of a
unified society.
B Activists in China have claimed Jing as a hero.
C Jing is more worthy of being called a hero
than Zheng.
D People disagree about whether Zheng or Jing
should be more celebrated.
9. Which detail would be most important to
include in a summary of the article?
A Fan Wuji was a general who deserted
Qin’s army.
B The First Emperor may have accidentally
poisoned himself.
C After killing Jing, Zheng took over Yan and
all the warring states.
D Today, 1.4 billion people live in China.
10. According to the sidebar on page 20, experts
think China will by 2030.
A become a democracy
B no longer have the largest population
C solve climate change
D have the world’s top economy
Read the article on pages 17-21, then answer the questions.
Comp