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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. Who builds Joncour's park?
(a) He hires Spanish architects and workers.
(b) Out-of-work mill workers.
(c) Polish workers.
(d) Local builders.

2. What does Joncour find when he arrives at the port of Shirakawa on his fourth (last) trip to Japan?
(a) The boats are all gone.
(b) The water is too high and there is flooding.
(c) Half of the port is destroyed.
(d) All of the ships are crowded.

3. When Helene and Joncour see Baldabiou off at the train station, what does Helene do?
(a) She runs beside the train.
(b) She enbraces Baldabiou and cries.
(c) She smiles and tilts her head, crying.
(d) She is happy to see him out of her life.

4. What do the letters say at the end?
(a) "We will not see each other anymore."
(b) "I am with Hara Kei now."
(c) "Have many children with your wife."
(d) "Go to the lake and think of me."

5. How long does Joncour stay at the village of Hara Kei on the fourth trip, surveying the damage?
(a) For days.
(b) He leaves immediately.
(c) For hours.
(d) For a week.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Joncour do with the envelope he receives after his last trip to Japan?

2. Where is the event held that Helene and Joncour attend on the Riviera?

3. What does Helene ask Joncour to promise before he leaves for his fourth trip to Japan?

4. What does Louis Pasteur decide about the silk egg production in Chapter 41?

5. After his last trip to Japan, how does the town view Joncour?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does the author describe the train trip so vividly returning from Japan on the fourth trip? What is the significance of the heat that Joncour sees on the fields and with the other passengers? What is he watching happening?

2. Why does Joncour take Baldabiou to the house of Jean Berbeck that he buys? What is he looking for? Why does he think that Baldabiou will understand?

3. When Joncour's wife asks about the aviary, what does he say to her? What do you think she is thinking about her husband's actions? Do you think she is aware that something is going on?

4. On the fourth trip to Japan, describe the young boy that Joncour follows? What is he playing? Why would he play music as they wander through the villages?

5. What does Joncour hear as Hara Kei hold the gun to his head? Describe the sounds of what is happening around him.

6. Why do Joncour and Helene name a daughter Agnes? What is this referring to? Who is this a tribute to?

7. Why does Joncour fire his gun on the way out of town and startle the birds? What is he saying, and to whom? Who will get his message?

8. Why does Joncour sit by the lake on windy days after the death of his wife? Has the meaning of the ripples on the water changed for him?

9. When Joncour arrives home nine days late, what does he ask of his wife? Why does he ask her this?

10. Why do you think Madame Blanche wants to forget about her native language? Why does she make Joncour promise to never return to her for a translation?

(see the answer keys)

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