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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 is implied when the narrator says that, upon hearing of his mother's death, Yukio "heard a tautly stretched string snapping inside his head" (66)?
(a) He realized that nothing more prevented him from committing suicide.
(b) He was enraged at Kyoko's duplicity and wanted revenge.
(c) He decided that there was no longer any reason to strive to repay his debt.
(d) He felt deep shame at having stayed away from his mother for so long.

2. Just before Kyoko leaves the café, what does she thank Kazu for?
(a) A painting Kazu did for her.
(b) Saving Yukio's life.
(c) Visiting Kinuyo's grave.
(d) Yohsuke's Christmas gift.

3. What is Fumiko's job?
(a) Television presenter.
(b) Online marketing.
(c) Systems engineer.
(d) Neurosurgeon.

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

5. When Kurata visits the café to learn more about the time-travel rules, which rule is he most interested in clarifying?
(a) The rule about not leaving the time-travel seat during time travel.
(b) The rule about drinking the coffee before it gets cold.
(c) The rule about only being able to meet people who visit the café.
(d) The rule about not being able to change reality by traveling in time.

Short Answer Questions

1. Just before he lifts his coffee to drink it and return to his own time, what does Kurata hand to Miki?

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

3. What are the details about Kimiko's clothing meant to convey about her?

4. Where did Kiyoshi and Kimiko meet?

5. What physical details are frequently used to identify Nagare to the reader?

Short Essay Questions

1. When Miki writes her wish that Nagare would become happy, how does Nagare react?

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

3. What news about Yukio does the reader learn in "Lovers"?

4. How does Yaeko Hirai's story inspire Kiyoshi to make a change in the way he has been living his life?

5. What comparison does Yukio make between his own situation and that of a character in Maeterlinck's The Blue Bird?

6. Why does Kiyoshi feel partially responsible for his wife's death?

7. How do Yukio's actions and emotions during the scene where he first sits down in the time-travel chair foreshadow his plan to not return to the present?

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

9. Immediately after losing all of his money, what is the only solution to his problems that Yukio can think of, and what prevents him from choosing this solution?

10. How did Yukio's perception of his own circumstances change over the years of his apprenticeship?

(see the answer keys)

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