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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What did Shonagon say the child who brought a letter to Tozammi's room looked like?
(a) A basket worm.
(b) A hototogisu.
(c) A cherub.
(d) A stick of bamboo.

2. What kind of paper was Yukinari's letter to Shonagon written on in "One Evening Yukinari, the Controller First Secretary?"
(a) Bamboo paper.
(b) Cherry blossom paper.
(c) Koya paper.
(d) Meng-Ch'ang paper.

3. When did Shonagon say people walking about laughing loudly are enviable?
(a) During times of abstinence.
(b) When one is ill.
(c) Late at night.
(d) When one is sad.

4. What would make a player in a game of hidden rhymes look pleased with himself?
(a) Finding the concealed character.
(b) A dinner bell before his defeat.
(c) His opponent's puzzlement.
(d) Ending the game in a tie.

5. How many times a day did the woman Shonagon saw coming does the hill to the Upper Shrine say she was making the pilgrimage?
(a) Two.
(b) Eleven.
(c) Seven.
(d) Five.

6. What sounded different in the Time Office in "While We Were in Mourning for the Chancellor?"
(a) Laughter.
(b) Men's voices.
(c) Singing.
(d) The gong.

7. Where did the Empress live after the Chancellor's death?
(a) Seiryo Palace.
(b) The Imperial Palace.
(c) The Emperor's quarters.
(d) The Smaller Palace of the Second Ward.

8. What terminology did Shonagon and Tadanobu use to discuss men and women when they didn't want anyone else to know what they were talking about?
(a) Poetic terminology.
(b) The terminology of go.
(c) The terminology of the Chinese zodiac.
(d) The terminology of backgammon.

9. Which of these was included in the list of things that had lost their power?
(a) A dead fish washed up on a beach.
(b) A retreating storm.
(c) A large tree that was blown down.
(d) An ancient Emperor.

10. Which of these did Shonagon say was distant but near?
(a) Festivals celebrated near the palace.
(b) Paradise.
(c) The course of a boat.
(d) Relations between a man and a woman.

11. In "One Evening during the Reign of Emperor Murakami" what was causing smoke to come from the brazier?
(a) A burning notebook.
(b) A rat.
(c) A frog.
(d) A cedar branch.

12. Where did Shonagon like to sit after a thin fall of snow?
(a) Under a warm pile of blankets.
(b) Around a brazier on the veranda.
(c) Beside a pond in the garden.
(d) In the Empress's bedchamber.

13. In "There Was a Man in the Corridor" what was the man's servant holding?
(a) A branch of cherry blossoms.
(b) An umbrella.
(c) Flowers.
(d) A brightly wrapped package.

14. What was in the parcel that Yukinari sent Shonagon in "One Day a Man from the Office of Grounds?"
(a) Colored paper.
(b) Square cakes.
(c) A robe.
(d) Flowers.

15. What did the guests pour wine into at the rehearsal for the Special Festivals?
(a) A tea cup.
(b) A basket.
(c) A Yaku shell.
(d) A small wooden bowl.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did Shonagon say a woman's house should look like when she lived alone?

2. Who did the Empress suggest Shonagon ask for advice about how to respond to the package from Yukinari?

3. What kind of woman did Shonagon say she couldn't understand anyone loving?

4. Who did Shonagon say it was pleasant for a court lady on leave to visit?

5. What was stuck into the pile of snow that Emperor Murakami ordered?

(see the answer keys)

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