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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

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

4. Who is the author of "The Marry Month of May"?
(a) Henry James.
(b) Willa Cather.
(c) O. Henry.
(d) Edith Wharton.

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

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

7. When Miss Coulson stands thinking at the window, to what insects does she mentally compare Mr. Coulson and Mrs. Widdup?
(a) Fleas.
(b) Cockroaches.
(c) Mayflies.
(d) Mosquitoes.

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

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

10. What does the narrator warn the reader to "never trust" (333)?
(a) Warm breezes.
(b) May.
(c) Sparrows.
(d) Hyacinths.

11. When the narrator lists the kinds of inappropriate relationships that May encourages, one of the items in the list is "old chaps" who dress up and "parade in front of the Normal School" (332). Who are these old men trying to impress with their fancy clothing?
(a) Young women training to become school teachers.
(b) Female college professors.
(c) Lower-class college-aged women.
(d) Schoolgirls.

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

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

14. 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 are not immortal.
(d) That they should be kind to one another.

15. When Mr. Coulson is irritated, he complains that no one in the house does what?
(a) Listens to him when he speaks.
(b) Attempts to entertain him.
(c) Responds when he rings for a servant.
(d) Cares if he lives or dies.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where Mr. Coulson is sitting, two main smells are "battling": the smell of flowers and what other smell?

2. Which of the following literary techniques is used in the title "The Marry Month of May"?

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

4. What kind of clam is a "chowder-doomed clam" (332)?

5. How old is Mrs. Widdup?

(see the answer keys)

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