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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 shade of plum blossom brought Shonagon the most pleasure?
(a) Red.
(b) Yellow.
(c) White.
(d) Blue.

2. In the section called "Depressing Things," what was depressing about a letter from the provinces?
(a) When the letter was on plain paper.
(b) When the letter bore bad news.
(c) When the letter arrived without a gift.
(d) When the penmanship was poor.

3. What was rare in a servant according to the section titled "Rare Things?"
(a) One who was cruel.
(b) One who was well-dressed.
(c) One who was intelligent.
(d) One who was pleasant to his master.

4. What tree's blossoms did Shonagon consider prosaic and vulgar, but later changed her mind about?
(a) Orange tree.
(b) Pear tree.
(c) Peach tree.
(d) Cherry tree.

5. Where did the women plan to go to hear a hototogisu sing during the Abstinence of the Fifth Month?
(a) An old mill.
(b) A field.
(c) A bridge.
(d) A cherry orchard.

Short Answer Questions

1. What color did Shonagon say oxen's bellies should be?

2. What color were the horses that members of the nobility came to see on the first day of the First Month?

3. What did Shonagon say an ugly preacher might be?

4. In the section titled "I Was Standing in a Corridor," what were the servants carrying?

5. What did Shonagon tell the Empress she thought of Yukinari?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did the women laugh at the paintings on the sliding screen in Seiryo Palace?

2. What caused Hitachi no Suke to stop coming to the Palace?

3. Why did Shonagon think that moonlight shining on snow on the roof of common people's houses was unsuitable?

4. Why did Shonagon find it annoying when a man who was not more than an acquaintance came for a casual chat?

5. Why did Shonagon say that young herbs peeking through the snow were unexpected near the Palace?

6. Why were Shonagon and the other women disgusted by the response of some of the servants who were carrying attractively wrapped bundles and bags when the women asked them who the packages belonged to?

7. Why did Shonagon send her brother a piece of seaweed in reply to his letter?

8. Why didn't the women write their hototogisu poems after going on an outing to hear them sing?

9. In "Smaller Shirakawa," why did Shonagon and her companions leave the morning service early?

10. Why did Shonagon offer a gardener a reward to see to it that the snow mountain did not melt until after the fifteenth of the First Month?

(see the answer keys)

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