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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. What physical details are frequently used to identify Nagare to the reader?
(a) His peaceful expression and slight stoop.
(b) His almond-shaped eyes and large size.
(c) His jet-black, shaggy hair and calloused hands.
(d) His booming voice and crooked smile.

2. Who enters the café just after Kurata finally finishes his coffee and disappears?
(a) Kazu.
(b) Fumiko.
(c) Nagare.
(d) Goro.

3. What surprising event ends this story?
(a) Miki runs away.
(b) Nagare retires.
(c) Kaname disappears.
(d) Kazu gets engaged.

4. Which rule does Miki forget to review with Kiyoshi that he later nearly breaks?
(a) The rule about drinking the coffee before it gets cold.
(b) The rule about not trying to change the present.
(c) The rule about not leaving anything behind in the past.
(d) The rule about getting up from the chair.

5. What does Asami show Kurata soon after meeting him in the café?
(a) A wedding ring.
(b) A Christmas gift.
(c) A funeral program.
(d) A photograph.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the primary intent of the passage in which Miki comes out to pour the coffee and Nagare questions her about her readiness for the task?

2. Why was Yukio still struggling financially even after he started getting a salary from the pottery studio?

3. Who helped Kiyoshi choose the necklace for his wife?

4. What object does Yukio give to his mother when he visits the past?

5. In Maeterlinck's The Blue Bird, where do Tyltyl and Mytyl encounter the child with the terrible fate?

Short Essay Questions

1. What similarity does Kiyoshi see between his and Kazu's situations?

2. When Yukio is discouraged about his future, what keeps him working toward becoming a potter?

3. For Yukio, what is especially cruel about the timing of Kinuyo's death?

4. A year prior to the events of "Husband and Wife," what does Kiyoshi see in the café and what does it make him realize is true?

5. What is so tricky about Kurata's time-travel plans, and how has he tried to plan ahead to overcome this difficulty?

6. How did Yukio lose all of his money?

7. What happened when Kimiko tried to intervene in the mugging incident?

8. What does Kinuyo explain to Yukio about the silver stirrer, and what does he realize this means Kinuyo knows?

9. What complication almost prevents Kiyoshi from traveling back in time, and how does Nagare solve the problem?

10. What is similar about Asami's decision to meet Kurata and the advice Kurata gave her after her miscarriage?

(see the answer keys)

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