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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. How often did Kazu visit his children when they were young?
(a) Once a month.
(b) Every holiday, birthday and special occasion.
(c) Once in summer and once in winter.
(d) Every other week.

2. What did Osamu say about Koichi at the funeral that Kazu was not aware of?
(a) He and Koichi were best friends.
(b) He and Koichi did not always get along.
(c) Koichi always talked about his father.
(d) Koichi was engaged.

3. What does Kazu hear two women joke about when discussing toy poodles?
(a) They joke that they do not need husbands as long as they have their dogs.
(b) They joke that the poodles eat better than people.
(c) They joke that they liked dogs better than people.
(d) They joke that their dogs are like their children.

4. What word does Kazu use when he thinks of what Shige was like when he knew him?
(a) Sly.
(b) Uneducated.
(c) Intellectual.
(d) Generous.

5. Who left a message for Kazu to tell him his son died while he was working in Hokkaido?
(a) His neighbor.
(b) His wife.
(c) His daughter.
(d) The police.

Short Answer Questions

1. What are some things Kazu says about himself and his life at the start of the story?

2. According to Kazu's father, how long had there ancestors been in Soma?

3. What was Kazu distraught when his wife needed a midwife while she was in labor with their son?

4. After working in Onamaha for two years, What did Kazu do with his father on Kitamigita Beach?

5. What did the priest tell Setsuko people should do when someone dies rather than mourning them?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the history of the Statue of Times Forgotten, which Shige told Kazu about?

2. Describe the conversation between the homeless man and woman after the woman repeats her disbelief that Shige is dead.

3. How old was Kazu when he first began to work, and what did he do for work?

4. What was Kazu's first job in Tokyo?

5. Who is Kazu and what is he doing in Ueno Station at the start of the novel?

6. What did Kazu and his father, mother, and wife each do to support and feed the family around the time his first son was born?

7. What happened in the Tohuko region and Hokkaido after the Tokyo Olympics ended, and what type for work did Kazu do in Sendai?

8. How did Kazu's family financial status impact them while his wife was in labor with their first child?

9. How does Kazu describe Shige?

10. What does Kazu begin to feel about his life after his son dies?

(see the answer keys)

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