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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 a woman's house should look like when she lived alone?
(a) Beautiful.
(b) Dilapidated.
(c) Clean but simple.
(d) Organized.

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

3. What insect did Shonagon compare the flageolet to?
(a) Cicada.
(b) Water beetle.
(c) Cricket.
(d) Dragonfly.

4. What kind of pond did Shonagon like best?
(a) A nicely kept pond.
(b) A pond with a bridge and flowers.
(c) One that was wild and covered with weeds.
(d) One with fish.

5. Who said they had left the grass in the garden outside the palace to grow long so they could admire the dew?
(a) Lady Sakyo.
(b) The Empress.
(c) Lady Saisho.
(d) Shonagon.

6. Which of these did Shonagon say gave an clean feeling?
(a) A rush mat.
(b) The containers used for oil.
(c) A soft breeze.
(d) Little sparrows.

7. What kind of lodging did Shonagon stay in in "Shortly after the Twentieth of the Ninth Month?"
(a) Beautiful.
(b) Simple.
(c) Ugly.
(d) Elaborate.

8. Which of these did Shonagon say gains by being painted?
(a) Autumn fields.
(b) People praised in romances as being beautiful.
(c) Cherry blossoms.
(d) Yellow roses.

9. Who said he/she would order the dancers to perform for the ladies-in-waiting after the Special Festival at Iwashimizu?
(a) The Chancellor.
(b) The Empress.
(c) Yukinari.
(d) The Emperor.

10. What time of day did the Shigei Sha arrive at the Palace to see the Empress?
(a) Late at night.
(b) Early in the morning.
(c) Early evening.
(d) Midday.

11. In "On the Last Day of the Second Month," who was present at court that made Shonagon worry about her response to the note she received at the Black Door?
(a) The Shigei Sha.
(b) Kinto.
(c) Tadanobu.
(d) The Empress.

12. 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) Five.
(c) Seven.
(d) Eleven.

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

14. In "Wind Instruments" what instrument did Shonagon say was charming for a man to carry when he went out on horseback or on foot?
(a) Zither.
(b) Drum.
(c) Flageolet.
(d) Flute.

15. In the section titled "In the Fifth Month" what kind of branch gave a fragrant scent when stuck in the carriage wheel?
(a) Sagebrush.
(b) Cedar.
(c) Plum blossom.
(d) Cherry blossom.

Short Answer Questions

1. What color were the Shigei Sha's under-robes when Shonagon first saw her at Toka Palace?

2. In "Things Without Merit" what item did Shonagon say was so vulgar that people wouldn't want her to mention it?

3. For what occasion did the Empress have to leave the Palace while they were in mourning for the Chancellor?

4. Where did the wood for the batons for the new Chamberlains of the Sixth Rank come from?

5. Who remarked to all the ladies gathered in the corridor to watch that it "must make [them] laugh to see the foolish old man?"

(see the answer keys)

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