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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What did Shonagon tell the Empress she thought of Yukinari?
(a) He was unusual.
(b) He was handsome.
(c) He was cruel.
(d) He was foolish.

2. What gate at the house of the Senior Steward was too small for the carriage Shonagon and the other ladies rode in?
(a) West.
(b) South.
(c) East.
(d) North.

3. In "It Is So Stiflingly Hot," who did the woman in the house with the open lattice receive a letter from?
(a) Her original lover.
(b) The Emperor.
(c) Her father.
(d) Her husband.

4. What did the officials carry when they came to thank the Emperor for their new appointments?
(a) Baskets.
(b) Flowers.
(c) Scrolls.
(d) Batons.

5. What kind of plant did Shonagon find pretty when it floated on the water of a pond?
(a) Water-plantain.
(b) Water oats.
(c) Hollyhock.
(d) Lotus leaves.

6. Who did the Empress refer to as "heavenly maidens floating in the air?"
(a) Little girls at a festival.
(b) Young women at a wedding.
(c) Her attendants.
(d) Her daughters.

7. How many women got in the carriage to go hear the hototogisu singing?
(a) Two.
(b) Six.
(c) Four.
(d) Ten.

8. What was Shonagon's elder brother's name?
(a) Tsunefusa.
(b) Norimitsu
(c) Tadanobu.
(d) Narimasa.

9. What does Shonagon say was depressing for a messenger who brought a gift to a house where a child was just born?
(a) No reward was given.
(b) The gift was returned unopened.
(c) The messenger was ignored.
(d) The child had died.

10. What color robe did Korechika wear when he came to report to His Majesty while the ladies sat discussing the painting on a sliding screen?
(a) Wistaria.
(b) Black.
(c) Golden yellow.
(d) Cherry-colored.

11. What insect did Shonagon say she should have included in her list of hateful things?
(a) Mosquito.
(b) Fly.
(c) Beetle.
(d) Moth.

12. What was nice to hear while snuggling under the covers with a lover in the winter?
(a) A flute.
(b) A temple gong.
(c) A purring cat.
(d) Bellowing cows.

13. In the section titled "Once When Her Majesty Was Residing" what did the ladies-in-waiting build in the garden?
(a) A sculpture of a bird.
(b) A snow mountain.
(c) A small building.
(d) A flower bed.

14. What did Lord Akinobu say he had picked with his own hands?
(a) Rice.
(b) Cherries.
(c) Seaweed.
(d) Fern sprouts.

15. What gift did the Empress give the wet nurse who was leaving?
(a) A basket of flowers.
(b) A robe.
(c) A fan.
(d) A piece of jewelry.

Short Answer Questions

1. During what festival did people decorate with irises?

2. What color did Shonagon say oxen's bellies should be?

3. In the section titled "It Was During One of Her Majesty's Periods of Residence," what did the women go outside to see in the early morning?

4. What color were the horses that members of the nobility came to see on the first day of the First Month?

5. What did Shonagon say a well-bred young man should never do when visiting a woman of lower rank?

(see the answer keys)

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