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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Section 1: "The Marry Month of May".

Multiple Choice Questions

1. When Mr. Coulson asks for his "aconite," what is he asking for (333)?
(a) A religious text that provides commentary on the Bible.
(b) A wooden cane with a carved top.
(c) A hot breakfast cereal, like porridge or gruel.
(d) An herbal medicine used to treat pain and inflammation.

2. Where Mr. Coulson is sitting, two main smells are "battling": the smell of flowers and what other smell?
(a) The musty smell of Mr. Coulson's room.
(b) The medicine on Mr. Coulson's skin.
(c) Mr. Coulson's strong cologne.
(d) Mr. Coulson's uneaten breakfast.

3. Where does Miss Coulson meet the iceman on the next morning?
(a) In the vacant lot next door.
(b) In the kitchen.
(c) In the basement.
(d) In the park across from the house.

4. When Mr. Coulson continues quoting the poem and mentions "a livelier iris," what does Mrs. Widdup think he is talking about? (333)
(a) Flowers.
(b) A bird.
(c) The Irish.
(d) Eyes.

5. What claim is the narrator making by calling humans "lineal scions of the pansy" (332)?
(a) Humans and flowers are related through evolution.
(b) Plants and animals are just as valuable as humans.
(c) Humans are the servants of nature.
(d) Pansies are more like humans than most people realize.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why is Mr. Coulson so clumsy on the afternoon after the ice is delivered?

2. What is the first indication that Mrs. Widdup does not listen carefully?

3. What point is made through the juxtaposition of Mr. Coulson's and Mrs. Widdup's comments about springtime?

4. What is the purpose of the allusion to the "virgin of Cologne" (334)?

5. What is the "twist" at the end of this story?

(see the answer key)

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