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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why is Ono surprised at Setsuko's view of Noriko's marriage negotiation?
(a) Because he had salvaged the negotiations.
(b) Because she had made a similar confession.
(c) Because his declaration had a good result.
(d) Because she had been the one who suggested that he take steps to clarify his position.

2. What does Matsuda's neighbor boy do each day?
(a) He feeds the fish.
(b) He climbs a tree to watch Matsuda feed the fish.
(c) He climbs up on the wall between the houses.
(d) He comes to visit.

3. What does Noriko like about her apartment?
(a) It is very traditional.
(b) It is spacious.
(c) It has a spectacular view of the city.
(d) It is Western and modern.

4. Why does Moriyama declare himself unsatisfied with his early work?
(a) He had been caught in the pleasures of the floating world.
(b) He had been unskilled about the floating world.
(c) He had been unable to capture the essence of the floating world.
(d) He had felt guilty about the pleasures of the floating world.

5. How do the art students treat Sasaki when he changes his style?
(a) They hid his paintings and refused to speak to him.
(b) They gave him a goodbye party and sent him away.
(c) They burned his work in the courtyard.
(d) They criticized him in public.

6. Why does the smell of burning make Ono uneasy?
(a) It reminds him of bombings and fire.
(b) It reminds him of burned paintings.
(c) It reminds him of the burning of his house.
(d) It frightens him that the fire will spread.

7. What happened to Moriyama after Ono left his school?
(a) His reputation had spread.
(b) His work had been admired in Europe.
(c) His reputation had declined.
(d) His work was displayed at the palace.

8. What does Ono mean when he talks of the art students "slanging" one another?
(a) They wrote slurs about one another.
(b) They shouted good-humored insults across the yard.
(c) They destroyed each other's paintings.
(d) They wrote unpleasant critiques of one another's work.

9. How long after their initial reconnection had Ono visited his old friend?
(a) Six months.
(b) A year.
(c) Two years.
(d) Eighteen months.

10. What is the "floating world"?
(a) The life of beachcombers and fishermen.
(b) The changing political landscape of Japan.
(c) The world of nighttime entertainment and drink.
(d) The water lilies in the palace courtyard.

11. Why does Ono quit painting for such a long time?
(a) He had been forbidden to paint.
(b) He had lost his touch.
(c) He felt he was untalented.
(d) He was disillusioned.

12. What is Ichiro's favorite food now that he is eight-years-old?
(a) Shrimp with rice.
(b) Spinach.
(c) Pancakes.
(d) Ice cream.

13. When Ono and Matsuda examine their lives, what do they see, according to Matsuda?
(a) They were flawed.
(b) They were fascinating.
(c) They were valiant.
(d) They were flawless.

14. What does the visiting Gisaburo say about nights in the floating world?
(a) The best things are put together at night and vanish in the morning.
(b) All artists seek the light of day.
(c) The worst things happen in the darkness.
(d) Only drunkards find value in that which fades in the morning.

15. Why had Moriyama been happy with his work looking back on it as an old man?
(a) He had devoted his life to nurturing young talent.
(b) He had devoted his life to repudiating debauchery.
(c) He had devoted his life to capturing a unique beauty.
(d) He had devoted his life to changing with modernizing trends.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does the songwriter Naguchi commit suicide?

2. How does Moriyama respond to his students' comments about his painting?

3. When he learns there will be sake at dinner, what makes Ichiro laugh?

4. How does Ono feel about the future of Japan?

5. Why does Matsuda envy Ono?

(see the answer keys)

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