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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

3. Miss Coulson has a "lorgnette" (334). What is a lorgnette?
(a) A piece of jewelry used to hold a scarf or shawl closed.
(b) Glasses that have a handle instead of ear-pieces.
(c) A high-necked, long-sleeved sweater.
(d) A round, flat case designed to hold medications or tobacco.

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

5. When "May holds up a chiding finger," (332), what is May's intention?
(a) To indicate a pause.
(b) To indicate the "first" of something.
(c) To indicate a direction.
(d) To scold.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. What is the implication of the passage "She blushed. Oh, yes, it can be done. Just hold your breath and compress the diaphragm" (333)?

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

4. Where does Miss Coulson meet the iceman on the next morning?

5. The story opens with the word "prithee" (332). What does this word mean in this context?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain the titular allusion and the allusion to "the poet" in the first sentence of the story.

2. In the passage where Miss Coulson stares out the window, the reader is told "The chirp of the sparrows gave her a pain. She mocked at May" (334). To what earlier passage is this a reference, and what is the significance of the reference?

3. What is the significance of the sound of the overturned chair after Mr. Coulson confesses his feelings to Mrs. Widdup?

4. What is Miss Coulson's plan to head off her father's budding romance?

5. When Mr. Coulson finally confesses his feelings to Mrs. Widdup, what drawback to himself does he acknowledge, and what advantage does he say balances this drawback out?

6. What happens overnight that changes Mrs. Widdup and Mr. Coulson's fate?

7. Explain the significance of the diction "foxy" to describe Mrs. Widdup (333).

8. When Mr. Coulson comments that the spring weather is "lovely," his daughter replies "That's just it" (334). What does she mean by her reply?

9. When Miss Coulson says that the supposedly chilly weather is "An instance...of winter lingering in the lap of spring," what double meaning does she have in mind? (335).

10. How do words like "yaller" and "lawsy" in Mrs. Widdup's dialogue characterize her?

(see the answer keys)

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