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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why does Kiyoshi feel unsure about what to get his wife for her birthday?
(a) She is a notoriously picky person, with eccentric tastes.
(b) He has never bought her a birthday present before.
(c) She has told him many times that she does not need presents from him.
(d) Their marriage is recent, and he does not know her very well yet.

2. How many times did the man ask Kazu to be his girlfriend before she agreed?
(a) Two.
(b) Five.
(c) Three.
(d) Four.

3. What is Gohtaro's daughter's name?
(a) Haruka.
(b) Kasumi.
(c) Aiko.
(d) Tomoko.

4. What language does Miki use a few words from when she comes into the café?
(a) Swahili.
(b) Gaelic.
(c) Italian.
(d) French.

5. How old is Gohtaro's daughter?
(a) 21.
(b) Nearly 19.
(c) Nearly 23.
(d) 25.

6. Who is the author of Tales from the Café?
(a) Haruki Murakami.
(b) Junichiro Tanizaki.
(c) Hiromi Kawakami.
(d) Toshikazu Kawaguchi.

7. How does Kyoko react to Nagare's suggestion about a present for Kiyoshi's wife?
(a) She praises it effusively, saying she wishes her husband thought like Nagare.
(b) She laughs and tells Nagare he does not understand women.
(c) She dismisses it as completely unhelpful.
(d) She politely suggests a slight improvement in the plan.

8. During the conversation between Kazu and Kyoko, what is Kiyoshi doing?
(a) Dozing over a novel.
(b) Trying to get Kazu's attention.
(c) Staring at his notebook.
(d) Watching the ghost uneasily.

9. What does Kyoko believe about her brother not attending their mother's funeral?
(a) She thinks he was too angry at her to attend.
(b) She is concerned that he is too depressed to leave home.
(c) She wonders if the information reached him in time.
(d) She is worried that something has happened to him.

10. Besides a love of insects, what does the narrator say links Japanese culture to the other culture discussed in the opening of "Mother and Son"?
(a) Traditional foods.
(b) Pottery techniques.
(c) Traditional etiquette.
(d) Language features.

11. What does the expression "in a pickle" mean (32)?
(a) In a sour mood.
(b) Unable to make a move.
(c) Unable to understand.
(d) In a tricky situation.

12. Besides Japanese culture, which other culture does the narrator say is especially fond of insects?
(a) Korean.
(b) Polynesian.
(c) Indonesian.
(d) Chinese.

13. What can the reader infer from the conversation between Nagare and the woman who seems to be the girl's mother?
(a) Mrs. Kinuyo used to have a much more active role in running the café.
(b) Nagare was not the owner of the café twenty-two years ago.
(c) Kyoko has been coming to the café since she was a child.
(d) Miki is Nagare's adopted daughter.

14. What is Kyoko's brother's reaction when Kazu mentions his mother's name?
(a) He is stoic and detached.
(b) He is startled and angry.
(c) He is confused and sad.
(d) He is amused and intrigued.

15. Who is Yamagishi Katsura?
(a) The ghost's husband.
(b) Kazu's boyfriend.
(c) Kyoko's father.
(d) A studio potter.

Short Answer Questions

1. On page 36, as soon as Gohtaro presses the record button, what does Shuichi say?

2. What is Kyoko's reaction to Kazu asking about her brother?

3. What similarity is there between Kazu's approach to art and her approach to customers at the café?

4. When Gohtaro and Shuichi first meet again in the past, how does Gohtaro see himself acting in front of his old friend?

5. What is an "onomatopoeic expression" (47)?

(see the answer keys)

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