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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. Where did Kazu meet the man who is now her boyfriend?
(a) The café.
(b) Mrs. Kinuyo's house.
(c) Art school.
(d) The grocery store.

2. Who sings a song about crickets in the opening of "Mother and Son"?
(a) Kyoko.
(b) Kazu.
(c) Miki.
(d) Nagare.

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

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

5. What is distinctive about the taste of the coffee served at the café?
(a) It is sour and acidic.
(b) It is bitter and burnt-tasting.
(c) It tastes like chocolate.
(d) It tastes like almonds.

Short Answer Questions

1. Besides Japanese culture, which other culture does the narrator say is especially fond of insects?

2. What motivates Shuichi to comment about what a nice suit Gohtaro is wearing?

3. What did Kinuyo give her son when he left for Kyoto?

4. What language does Miki use a few words from when she comes into the café?

5. Besides the obvious age differences, what is the only thing that has changed in the café when Gohtero returns to the past?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the subject of Kyoko's son Yohsuke come up in conversation?

2. Why does Gohtaro want to travel to the past?

3. How did Shuichi's and Gohtaro's lives take different paths after college?

4. What causes the narrator to suggest that Kyoko might be thinking, "Saved by Miki" when Kyoko suddenly bursts out laughing on page 53?

5. When Gohtaro tells Shuichi, "Haruka has decided to get married," how does the narrator explain Shuichi's reaction, and what does the reader later learn is the real reason for his reaction?

6. Why does Haruka's plan to marry mean that she will inevitably discover her true parentage?

7. Why is Kazu especially concerned with whether Kyoko's brother understands the rule about not being able to change the present?

8. What item does Kazu offer the ghost, and how do her emotions change during this encounter?

9. Why is Kyoko not interested in using the café's time-traveling service to go back in time to try to fix the problem with her brother?

10. How does the exchange between Kyoko and Kazu about Kazu's boyfriend characterize both women?

(see the answer keys)

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