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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. In what month does Aihara attempt suicide?

2. What lines the ditch outside the train as Shingo and the other passengers wait for the accident up ahead to be cleared?

3. What were two neighborhood girls using for dishes in the neighborhood play house?

4. Where does Kikuko agree to meet Shingo when she leaves her family's home?

5. What type of flowers does Shingo see outside the train window in Chapter 15, Section 4?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Shingo describe a young girl who wants a seat saved on a train?

2. In Chapter 15, what does Yasuko find odd about the cherry tree?

3. How did Kikuko get money for an abortion?

4. How did Americans get some ancient lotus seeds to sprout?

5. Who does Shingo follow when he gets to the garden where he is to meet Kikuko?

6. What news does Eiko bring Shingo in Chapter 13, Section 2?

7. Why did the president of a boat and yacht company decide to disappear with his wife?

8. Where does Kikuko tell Satoko to go when she complains about Kikuko sewing her dress?

9. What presents does Kikuko bring back from Tokyo?

10. Why does Shingo take his shoe off his right foot on the train?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss how the phrase "calmly swam through while everyone else was going under" applied to Shingo and his friends.

Essay Topic 2

Yasuko says "storms make trees take deeper root." Discuss what this phrase means and how it relates to problems faced by characters in the novel.

Essay Topic 3

Kikuko is considering giving tea lessons. Discuss tea lessons and why Kikuko considers giving tea lessons.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 564 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample