Spy Killer
Quiz
1. Main Idea
What is the main idea of the story?
The Chinese and Japanese are always fighting.
A woman changes her appearance and fools everyone.
Only women make good spies.
A man has to fight for his life after being wrongly accused of murder.
2. Sequence
What belongs in the middle?
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Varinka Savischna leaves Kurt in a locked room.
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2
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3
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The death squad searches the house and Kurt jumps out to fight.
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Kurt escapes from the Rangoon by jumping into the water.
Kurt meets Lin Wang.
Kurt meets Varinka in a Tea Room.
Anne Carsten, a woman he has met before, shows up unexpectedly.
3. Cause and Effect
Lin Wang rips out Bonner’s fingernails with pliers, so ________________.
he can see how much Bonner can take.
that Bonner’s fingers will look like Lin Wang’s
he can keep them for himself.
Bonner agrees to sign a confession to make the torture stop.
4. Cause and Effect
Lin Wang tells Kurt he must kill Takeki in order to get the confession and save himself, _____________.
so Yang kills Lin Wang so that Kurt can get away.
so Kurt laughs and tells Lin Wang he is a big joker .
so Kurt tells Lin Wang to forget it – he’s not a murderer.
so Kurt sets out to find and kill Takeki in order to save his own life
5. Context Clues
The Concession was a place in Shanghai where ___________.
fruits and vegetables were sold.
families would vacation during the summer.
endangered species were bought and sold.
foreigners could live and trade.
6. Context Clues
Lin Wang’s group of executioners is called ___________________.
the finest in China.
the First Brigade.
an army.
the Death Squad.
7. Prediction or Inference
Why do you think Kurt kept thinking about both Varinka and Anne Carsten?
He felt they could each help him escape.
He thought it would help keep his mind off his troubles in China.
He thinks about any woman he meets.
He did not realize they were the same person, but he seemed to like them equally.
8. Prediction or Inference
What do you think happens with Kurt and Varinka/Anne after the book ends?
They have a big fight and Kurt goes back to America.
They decide to spy for Japan instead.
The Chinese government throws them out of the country.
They get married and live happily in China.
9. Facts and Details
Kurt jumps over the side of the Rangoon into the water because______________.
he went for daily swims in order to keep his exercise in.
the water was a nice temperature for the first time in weeks.
he was tired of working on the tanker and wanted to find a new job.
a captain on the Rangoon was found dead and they think Kurt killed him.
10. Facts and Details
Kurt was kept in jail for a month before he met ______________.
an old friend.
the President.
Anne Carsten.
Lin Wang.
11. Facts and Details
After Bonner writes and signs a confession, Lin Wang ________.
throws him in the river
hires him to work in the Death Squad
congratulates him on his honesty
shoots him
12. Facts and Details
Kurt does not try to use the rope to escape from the cage he’s in because ___________.
he is too tired after the struggle he’s been through.
he had never learned how to climb a rope and thought he might fall.
he was starting to get used to being a prisoner.
he realized that if he escaped, Yang was still out there to kill him.
13. Facts and Details
When Kurt is finally taken to meet Takeki, he is shocked that she is ___________ .
a woman.
not as evil as he was led to believe.
older than he thought she would be.
Varinka Savischna.
14. Facts and Details
Kurt discovers that Varinka has helped him by slipping a _________ into his pocket.
ten dollar bill
love note
bandage
pistol.
15. Facts and Details
When Kurt must get Lin Wang to go to the monastery, Varinka _____________
takes a nap to get ready for the meeting.
lets him go by himself because she is afraid.
begs him not to go.
uses dye and a band to make him look Japanese.
5a1
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Spy Killer
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Name
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Date
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24/3
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CHARACTERS
Write about the following characters, and be sure to explain their relationships to the other characters.
Kurt Reid
Kurt Reid is an American who lives and works in China and speaks both Chinese and Japanese. He has been working as a seaman on a tanker and he has a reputation for having a hot temper. It is thought that he killed a captain so he jumps overboard to escape the consequences. He meets up with Varinka Savischna, a Russian who is mysterious and seems to want his help. Then she disappears and he ends up in the hands of the Death Squad after meeting up briefly with a girl he’d had a short romance with earlier, Anne Carsten. Lin Wang, the general of the Death Squad, wants him to kill Takeki, the Courageous in exchange for his freedom, which he sets out to do. Through various twists and turns he ends up saving both Takeki and himself in a battle of wits and force.
Varinka Savischna
Varinka Savischna is a mysterious Russian woman who seems to want Kurt’s help but will not tell him why. She is a friend of Anne Carsten. She disappears shortly before Kurt is captured by the Death Squad and then reappears when he is sent on a mission to kill Takeki. When Kurt is finally taken to see Takeki, he is shocked to find that it is really Varinka Savischna. She then helps him escape and puts herself at great risk. When Kurt comes back to save her they fight the final battle together and in the end, it turns out that Varinka is working for the Chinese government and that she and Anne Carsten are one and the same person!
Lin Wang
Lin Wang is the general of the Death Squad. He is a small, ugly, misshapen man with scaly skin who is as vile as he looks. He has Kurt Reid captured as he wants him to do a job for him – kill Takeki. In exchange he will give Kurt the confession that will clear his name; a confession gotten by torture which Kurt is forced to watch. Of course, Lin Wang thinks he will get rid of both Takeki and Kurt Reid with his plan, but they manage to outsmart him.
SUMMARY
Write a summary of the book on a separate piece of paper. You may prepare for an oral summary if you prefer.
SBQ (Story-based Questions)
Answer the following questions in short sentences.
1. How does Kurt Reid meet Varinka Savischna?
She is sitting in a Tea Room where he went to dry his clothes after escaping the Rangoon and she stands out because she is Russian.
2. How does Lin Wang get Bonner to sign a confession?
He pulls out his fingernails with pliers until he gives in.
3. What happens shortly after Kurt registers at the hotel at Kalgan, along the Great Wall?
Kurt is arrested by Japanese officers.
4. What is thrown through the window while Kurt is with Varinka in her house in Kalgan?
A rock with a note tied around it breaks the window.
5. How do the Japanese soldiers know that Varinka helped Kurt escape?
They found the gun she put in his pocket that is registered to Varinka.
6. Who is driving the car when the Japanese soldiers are taking Varinka to the Firing Squad?
Kurt Reid who has knocked out the real driver and is wearing the driver’s military cap.
7. Why does Varinka tell Kurt to stop at the old tower?
She says some Japanese will soon come along in a car and she gives him a rifle to use.
8. Who does Lin Wang have as a prisoner when Kurt shows up dressed as a Japanese officer?
He has Anne Carsten.
SBD(Story-based Discussion)
While you are reading the book, find the answers to the following questions. You don’t have to write down the answers.
1. Why does Kurt feel panic when he finds the doors to the room Varinka has left him in are all locked?
He has just escaped from the brig of the Rangoon and now finds himself a prisoner again.
2. What does Kurt realize that Lin Wang would do if he did manage to kill Takeki?
He would have him turned over to the Japanese as Takeki’s killer so there would be no risk to Lin Wang.
3. What does Varinka Savischna’s job turn out to be?
She is a supporter of the Chinese and her last job was to kill Lin Wang.
SAW (Story-applied Writing)
Pick one topic below and write a complete response.
1. Write the next chapter of the book, explaining what happens now that Kurt and Varinka are free.
2. Compare and contrast Kurt Reid with a character you have read about in another book.
3. Choose a few scenes from the book and rewrite them from Lin Wang’s perspective.
FIND THE MEANING
1. renowned means
foolish
owned again
named again
owned again
named again
famous
2. foil means
cause to be angry
not show one’s emotion
cover in silvery paper
prevent the success of
3. keen means
pretty
metal
stylish
sharp
4. poised means
killed with poison
made of flowers
pretended
made of flowers
pretended
self-assured
5.unscathed means
not serious
unhappy
not scared
unhappy
not scared
unharmed
6. bleakly means
slowly
in a talkative manner
in a talkative manner
sharply
without hope
without hope
7. scrutiny means
speaking slowly
living well
squinting
surveillance
living well
squinting
surveillance
8. futile means
unknown
deceiving
not many
deceiving
not many
useless
9. demise means
falsities
trickery
trickery
smallness
death
death
10. placidly means
previously
woodenly
perfectly
woodenly
perfectly
peacefully
COMPLETE THE SENTENCES
11. It is the job of a Super Hero to _________ the plans of criminals and enemies.
keen
demise
scrutiny
foil
demise
scrutiny
foil
12. With no money and no job, he could only think __________ about his future.
poised
renowned
placidly
bleakly
renowned
placidly
bleakly
13. She is always so ____________ that I feel awkward and unattractive next to her.
foil
futile
demise
poised
demise
poised
14. The misbehaving children became very uncomfortable under the ___________ of the teacher.
keen
bleakly
placidly
bleakly
placidly
scrutiny
15. Be careful with that knife! It has a __________ edge.
demise
scrutiny
unscathed
keen
unscathed
keen
16. He is ________________ for his many books on philosophy.
poised
placidly
futile
renowned
placidly
futile
renowned
17. I don’t know how he comes out of those fights ____________ !
keen
demise
foil
unscathed
demise
foil
unscathed
18. A person without secrets or regrets can go through life ______________.
futile
foil
scrutiny
placidly
scrutiny
placidly
19. The __________ of his grandfather left him sad for many weeks.
renowned
poised
bleakly
demise
20. Your efforts to pass that test will be ____________ if you don’t study.
unscathed
scrutiny
placidly
futile
scrutiny
placidly
futile