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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. When does Ono feel the sense of triumph he had hoped for?
(a) Sitting on a hill all alone, eating oranges.
(b) Confronting Moriyama at his villa.
(c) Receiving the praise of his students.
(d) When his family gave him a surprise party.

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

3. What is the last year covered in this story?
(a) 1947.
(b) 1952.
(c) 1949.
(d) 1950.

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

5. What phrase does Ono tell his pupils that is similar to what Moriyama has said?
(a) No man has helped more students than I have.
(b) No man has furthered art in our country more than I have.
(c) No man has painted better than I.
(d) No man will make me believe I have wasted my time.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where does Ono believe his own mannerisms come from?

2. How does Setsuko think Saito felt about Ono?

3. Why does Ono believe that the Tortoise or Shintaro will never feel the sort of happiness he felt sitting on the hillside?

4. When Ono and Matsuda examine their lives, what do they see, according to Matsuda?

5. What is always somewhere in a Moriyama painting?

Short Essay Questions

1. Years ago, Matsuda had accused Ono of having a narrow artist's perspective. What does Ono say about his perspective now that he is retired?

2. What does Matsuda say about his own perspective now that he is old and ill?

3. Why does Matsuda say he never married?

4. How does Matsuda console himself when thinking of his actions during the war?

5. What has changed since 1948 in regards to Ono's painting?

6. Why is Ono irritated at Setsuko's insistence that Saito never heard of Ono until the miai?

7. What does Ono say the New Japan proved about him and about Matsuda?

8. Why does the smell of burning still make Ono uneasy while he is relaxing in Matsuda's garden?

9. What do we learn about Setsuko from Ono's conversation with Matsuda?

10. When does Ono achieve his greatest feeling of triumph?

(see the answer keys)

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