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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. When the author compares May to Circe and explains the comparison at length, what literary technique is he using?
(a) Conceit.
(b) Hyperbole.
(c) Anaphora.
(d) Synechdoche.

2. The narrator says,"Pixies and flibbertigibbits haunt the budding woods" (332). What is in the woods?
(a) Dangerous monsters and people with evil intentions.
(b) Tricky supernatural creatures and people with evil intentions.
(c) Dangerous monsters and shallow, easily distracted people.
(d) Tricky supernatural creatures and shallow, easily distracted people.

3. 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) Eyes.
(c) The Irish.
(d) A bird.

4. What does the narrator call the "most potent weapons of insidious May" (334)?
(a) Warm breezes.
(b) Birds.
(c) Flowers.
(d) Sunny days.

5. What is the name of the servant who usually gives Mr. Coulson his medication?
(a) Treadwell.
(b) Higgins.
(c) Marley.
(d) Foster.

6. Who is Miss Van Meeker Constantia Coulson?
(a) Mr. Coulson's aunt.
(b) Mr. Coulson's sister.
(c) Mr. Coulson's daughter.
(d) Mr. Coulson's granddaughter.

7. What is the implication of the passage "She blushed. Oh, yes, it can be done. Just hold your breath and compress the diaphragm" (333)?
(a) Mrs. Widdup may be faking her reaction to Mr. Coulson.
(b) Most people blush on purpose.
(c) In her excitement, Mrs. Widdup can barely breathe.
(d) Blushing happens when the diaphragm is contracted too forcefully.

8. What is implied by the number of days for which Miss Coulson orders extra ice?
(a) She knows that after five days Mr. Coulson will be too irritated to talk to Mrs. Widdup at all.
(b) She thinks that the flowers will be done blooming in five days.
(c) She wants the deliveries to last until Mrs. Widdup leaves for vacation.
(d) She thinks that she will need five days to get to know the iceman better.

9. What is implied about Miss Coulson when she looks at the flowers "with the eye of a botanist" (334)?
(a) She is logical and unemotional.
(b) She is curious.
(c) She is thinking of cutting them down.
(d) She is very intelligent.

10. How many years apart are Miss Coulson's and Mrs. Widdup's ages?
(a) 15.
(b) 5.
(c) 10.
(d) They are the same age.

11. How does the narrator suggest the reader should respond to the poet who praises the month of May?
(a) With a punch in the eye.
(b) With a poem that condemns May.
(c) With more accurate scientific information.
(d) With laughter.

12. After the iceman tells Miss Coulson, "It'll be a pleasure to fix things up for you any way you please," the narrator comments "Alas for May" (334). What is implied by this comment?
(a) The iceman is flirting a little bit with Miss Coulson.
(b) Miss Coulson would not have to scheme against Mr. Coulson if it were not for the season.
(c) The iceman is mocking Miss Coulson for making such a strange request.
(d) Miss Coulson has deliberately given the iceman the wrong impression about her intentions.

13. What are the "portières" that Miss Coulson is sitting near?
(a) Window shutters.
(b) Hanging lamps.
(c) Curtains hung in the doorway.
(d) Wall hangings.

14. Why does Mr. Coulson tell his servant to "bring an axe" (335)?
(a) He wants to break up the ice.
(b) He is threatening to kill the servant.
(c) He is joking about killing himself.
(d) He wants to cut down the flowers.

15. Why does Miss Coulson ask when Mrs. Widdup's vacation begins?
(a) She is hoping to get away from the house for a while, herself.
(b) She is wondering if Mr. Coulson will try to go away with Mrs. Widdup.
(c) She will need to make arrangements for Mr. Coulson's care.
(d) She is eager to get Mrs. Widdup away from Mr. Coulson.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. Whom does the narrator refer to as "the venerable and scarcely suspecting victim of May" (334)?

3. According to the narrator, what does May want humans to remember?

4. Which neighborhood does Mr. Coulson live in?

5. With which motif is Miss Coulson most identified?

(see the answer keys)

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