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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. There are "jonquils" near where Mr. Coulson is sitting. What are jonquils?
(a) They are thick woolen blankets.
(b) They are a small sparrow-like bird.
(c) They are decorative figures common in early 20th century homes.
(d) They are a kind of daffodil, a flower.

2. What is Mrs. Widdup's job?
(a) Nurse.
(b) Parlor maid.
(c) Cook.
(d) Housekeeper.

3. 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) In her excitement, Mrs. Widdup can barely breathe.
(b) Blushing happens when the diaphragm is contracted too forcefully.
(c) Mrs. Widdup may be faking her reaction to Mr. Coulson.
(d) Most people blush on purpose.

4. What illness does Mr. Coulson suffer from?
(a) Rheumatism.
(b) Anemia.
(c) Lupus.
(d) Gout.

5. According to the narrator, what does May want humans to remember?
(a) That they are also animals.
(b) That they should be grateful for the coming summer.
(c) That they should be kind to one another.
(d) That they are not immortal.

6. What does Miss Coulson's believe about love?
(a) That it is humiliating.
(b) That it is a pretense.
(c) That it is overpowering.
(d) That it is inconvenient.

7. 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 laughter.
(c) With more accurate scientific information.
(d) With a poem that condemns May.

8. On the final morning of the story, what causes Mr. Coulson's mood to change?
(a) It is warm again and the windows are open.
(b) Mrs. Widdup has threatened to quit.
(c) He is in much less pain than usual.
(d) Miss Coulson has told him that he is behaving badly.

9. What is comic about the turn of phrase "she withstood the attack of the ethereal mildness" (334)?
(a) The contradiction in the terms "attack" and "ethereal mildness."
(b) The understatement of the danger.
(c) The idea that "mildness" could be "ethereal."
(d) The surprise ending to a well-known phrase.

10. Which of the following literary techniques is used in the title "The Marry Month of May"?
(a) Alliteration.
(b) Personification.
(c) Hyperbole.
(d) Understatement.

11. Why is Mr. Coulson so clumsy on the afternoon after the ice is delivered?
(a) He is angry at Miss Coulson's meddling.
(b) He is upset because of the cold.
(c) He is frustrated that he has not yet been able to confess his feelings to Mrs. Widdup.
(d) He is nervous about speaking to Mrs. Widdup.

12. What point is made through the juxtaposition of Mr. Coulson's and Mrs. Widdup's comments about springtime?
(a) Mrs. Widdup does not return Mr. Coulson's affections.
(b) Mrs. Widdup is a much more emotional person than Mr. Coulson is.
(c) There is a significant gap in their education and social classes.
(d) They have very different points of view about springtime.

13. What is the "twist" at the end of this story?
(a) Mrs. Widdup turns out to be wealthy, herself.
(b) Mrs. Widdup's husband is still alive.
(c) Miss Coulson runs away with the iceman.
(d) Mr. Coulson never had any romantic intentions toward Mrs. Widdup at all.

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

15. 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 shallow, easily distracted people.
(c) Tricky supernatural creatures and people with evil intentions.
(d) Dangerous monsters and shallow, easily distracted people.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Mr. Coulson call Mrs. Widdup when she starts talking about "ivy and hand-organs" (335)?

2. Miss Coulson has a "lorgnette" (334). What is a lorgnette?

3. When Miss Coulson stands thinking at the window, to what insects does she mentally compare Mr. Coulson and Mrs. Widdup?

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

5. What is the name of the servant who usually gives Mr. Coulson his medication?

(see the answer keys)

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