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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In some of his poems, Rumi refers to religious figures:
(a) From fiction.
(b) Only from his faith.
(c) Only that he knows personally.
(d) From different faiths.

2. In Rumi's string metaphor, the string connects two animals by their what?
(a) Ears.
(b) Ankles.
(c) Necks.
(d) Wrists.

3. What is one of the central teachings of Rumi?
(a) The elimination of sin.
(b) The cultivation of love.
(c) The desire for power.
(d) The search for eternal youth.

4. What main lesson does Rumi impart through his poem about a man who wants a tattoo in Book 1, Chapter 2?
(a) Tattoos are a waste of time and money.
(b) A person must listen to one's own heart rather than the babble of others.
(c) When embarking upon a task, one must be prepared for the associated pain.
(d) A man better have enough money before he goes about desiring frivolous things.

5. Rumi's short-story poems range from less than fifty lines to approximately what length?
(a) A hundred twenty lines.
(b) Two thousand lines.
(c) Two hundred lines.
(d) Ten thousand lines.

6. What region in Afghanistan did Rumi come from?
(a) Balkh.
(b) Chimtal.
(c) Zari.
(d) Kaldar.

7. Many of Rumi's poems reveal that life is not two-dimensional; on the contrary, it is very:
(a) Unfair.
(b) Boring.
(c) Flat.
(d) Complex.

8. When was the New Expanded Edition of this book published?
(a) 1980.
(b) 2000.
(c) 1965.
(d) 1995.

9. How did others regard Shams?
(a) They were concerned by the rivalry between Shams and Rumi.
(b) They felt he would make a benevolent ruler.
(c) They felt they could not completely trust him.
(d) They were jealous of the friendship between Shams and Rumi.

10. What is a Caliph?
(a) Leader.
(b) Teacher.
(c) Doctor.
(d) Student.

11. Who is Hallaj?
(a) Scholar who studies Rumi.
(b) Rumi's teacher.
(c) Character in Rumi's poems.
(d) Rumi's father.

12. Rumi's poems focus on what aspect of life?
(a) Life after death.
(b) Life's sorrows.
(c) Imaginary life.
(d) Inner life.

13. In a poem in Book 1, Chapter 2, when a city is taken by siege, what happens to one of the invaders?
(a) Is tricked and poisoned.
(b) Becomes a double agent.
(c) Is taken prisoner immediately.
(d) Falls in love instantly.

14. In the poems about an unlikely friendship between two different animals, one of them being a frog, these two animals have very different what?
(a) Environmental needs.
(b) Life spans.
(c) Names.
(d) Sizes.

15. Why did Rumi's family flee the place of his birth?
(a) They feared a Mongol invasion.
(b) They feared the ruler of the region.
(c) The land was attacked by Turks.
(d) The land was struck by drought.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to a poem in Book 1, Chapter 2, what happens when you put pond water into a larger body of water?

2. Rumi indicates that people who have blind faith are following this path through what?

3. According to Rumi, when the individual ego disappears and dissipates into God, this can be understood as what?

4. When speaking to the camel in the story in Book 1, Chapter 3, the mouse admits that it is what?

5. At times the character Hallaj can be tender and loving, but other times he can be what?

(see the answer keys)

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