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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. Which of these did Shonagon say loses by being painted?
(a) Cherry blossoms.
(b) Mountain villages.
(c) Pines.
(d) Cranes.

3. A promotion to what rank changed a man who was previously a Subordinate Official so much that he seemed to have been reborn?
(a) Gentleman-in-waiting.
(b) Palace guard.
(c) Chamberlain.
(d) Grounds keeper.

4. What did Shonagon say was a painful surprise on the morning after a fierce wind?
(a) A fallen tree.
(b) Broken branches.
(c) A knocked over fence.
(d) A disheveled garden.

5. What did the High Priestess travel in during the Return Procession from Kamo?
(a) Wicker-work carriage.
(b) Oxen cart.
(c) Palanquin.
(d) Palm leaf carriage.

6. What did Tadanobu say one was always sorry for in "It Was Late at Night?"
(a) An inadvertent remark.
(b) A poorly written poem.
(c) Forgetting one's manners.
(d) Visiting the ladies-in-waiting.

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. Who did the Empress suggest Shonagon ask for advice about how to respond to the package from Yukinari?
(a) Niramitsu.
(b) Korenaka.
(c) The Emperor.
(d) Tadanobu.

9. In "In the First Month When I Go to a Temple" who did Shonagon say she liked to have with her when she visited a new place?
(a) Only servants.
(b) Companions of her own class.
(c) A gentleman.
(d) Her brother.

10. 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) Plum blossom.
(c) Cherry blossom.
(d) Cedar.

11. Where was Shonagon going when she saw men harvesting rice in a field and found their skill impressive?
(a) The temple at Uzemasa.
(b) The Palace.
(c) Hase Temple.
(d) Home.

12. Who was the Empress' sister?
(a) She did not have a sister.
(b) A nun.
(c) The Shigei Sha.
(d) Shonagon.

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

14. What is the meaning of the name of the plant that Shonagon asked the children the name of in "On the Sixth of the Month?"
(a) Neckless plant.
(b) Eyeless plant.
(c) High head plant.
(d) Earless plant.

15. Where did the wood for the batons for the new Chamberlains of the Sixth Rank come from?
(a) The woods surrounding the Palace.
(b) The Chamberlains cut it themselves.
(c) The south-east corner of the Empress's Office.
(d) An abandoned house.

Short Answer Questions

1. How many attendants helped the Shigei Sha with her ablutions?

2. What kind of wood was the round brazier the Empress sat before when Shonagon came to visit in her early days as a lady-in-waiting?

3. Which of these did Shonagon say gains by being painted?

4. What was the poem Captain Tadanobu was going to recite in "One Day Captain Tadanobu, the Imperial Adviser, Came to Call?"

5. Which of these did Shonagon say was distant but near?

(see the answer keys)

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