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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 does Matsu invite Stephen after his father leaves?
(a) For a walk on the beach.
(b) To Sachi's garden.
(c) A Shinto shrine.
(d) To go to the fishing village.

2. What is Setsbun?
(a) A totem to keep away demons, cold, and pestilence.
(b) A canvas for a special Japanese painting.
(c) The first rites of spring.
(d) The name of the shrine they visit in Tama.

3. What does Matsu say Kenzo does?
(a) Gets hard to find items.
(b) Assists villagers with disputes.
(c) Gets food to the hungry.
(d) Delivers important supplies.

4. What does Stephen notice a lack of in Tarumi?
(a) Food.
(b) Children.
(c) Young men.
(d) Young women.

5. Who is Keiko with when Stephen first sees her?
(a) Her sister.
(b) No one.
(c) Her father.
(d) An unidentified woman.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Stephen tell his mother about his father's affair?

2. When does Stephen's father leave Tamuri after his second visit to see Stephen?

3. What New Year's gifts does Stephen receive from his family?

4. What two people do Stephen and his father discuss shortly before his father's departure?

5. Who says, "You really are a monster"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What agreement do Stephen's parents seem to come to after his father's visit?

2. Why does Stephen lie to his mother?

3. What does Stephen's father reveal about Matsu's history?

4. Describe Sachi's house during the New Year's celebration?

5. Describe the relationship between Stephen and his father in the beginning of the book.

6. How does Stephen react to the news in his mother's November,1937 letter?

7. What does Stephen struggle with at the Shinto shrine and why?

8. What conflicting accounts of the war does Stephen hear?

9. How does Stephen describe Matsu's garden?

10. How did Tomoko's death bring Sachi and Matsu closer?

(see the answer keys)

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