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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Once R and the narrator fall into a predictable daily routine, what is the only time she lingers in R's room to chat?
(a) When she collects his breakfast tray.
(b) When she brings him a bucket of water for bathing.
(c) When she collects his lunch tray.
(d) When she collects his dinner tray.

2. On Wednesday afternoon at the start of Chapter 4, the unnamed narrator has her third encounter with the Memory Police within what length of time?
(a) 1 year.
(b) 1 day.
(c) 1 week.
(d) 1 month.

3. A crowd gathers on the banks of what body of water in Chapter 6 to watch the latest objects disappear?
(a) The bog.
(b) The bay.
(c) The river.
(d) The lake.

4. Near the end of Chapter 8, R detects the scent of what object within one of the empty drawers in the cabinet?
(a) Ginger.
(b) Vanilla.
(c) Cinnamon.
(d) Perfume.

5. The old man tells the unnamed narrator in Chapter 7 that he has lived on the island how much longer than she has?
(a) 4 times.
(b) 5 times.
(c) 3 times.
(d) 2 times.

Short Answer Questions

1. When the unnamed narrator hears tapping on the glass and finds Professor Inui and his family outside her home, the unnamed narrator recalls that the boy is how many years old?

2. Who originally comes up with the idea for R to hide from the Memory Police in the unnamed narrator's home?

3. The unnamed narrator recalls that the disappeared objects in her palm had felt "like little" (5) what?

4. When the Memory Police arrive unannounced at the unnamed narrator's home in Chapter 2, what action does she ask them to take, though she is ignored?

5. The unnamed narrator states in Chapter 2 that she believes that she has a group of which family members "living in a village near the source of the far side of the mountains" (8)?

Short Essay Questions

1. What information is revealed in Chapter 5 about the narrator's mother and her interactions with the Memory Police?

2. Once R agrees to accept the narrator's offer to hide him, what instructions does she give him?

3. What objects are disappeared within Chapter 6 and what is different about the disppearances in this chapter?

4. In Chapter 7, what claim does the old man make about the Memory Police while trying to reassure the narrator of her safety?

5. What does the old man do with the page of the old ferry log on which he and the narrator have written their plans for hiding R?

6. Explain the first line of the novel, which states, "I sometimes wonder what was disappeared first---among all the things that have vanished from the island" (3).

7. Discuss an instance when Ogawa uses a metaphor or simile to describe R's ability to hold onto memories of disappeared objects.

8. What particular aspect of the birds' disappearance bothers the narrator the most?

9. What is named as "the first duty of the Memory Police" (14)?

10. For what reason does the narrator visit R's office in Chapter 10?

(see the answer keys)

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