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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. When Mir Nihal arrives home at the beginning of the story, what does his wife tell him about their son?
(a) He should get married soon.
(b) He should get a job soon.
(c) He was seen in the company of a dancing girl.
(d) He is spending time with a family she dislikes.

2. In the opening paragraphs of Part II, Chapter 7, what aspect of the days before the Coronation is stressed?
(a) The injustice.
(b) The hypocrisy.
(c) The anxiety.
(d) The novelty.

3. What was the cause of Asghar, Begam Waheed, and Begam Nihal being sent away to live somewhere else when Asghar was a child?
(a) Begam Waheed had an interest in a boy the family disliked.
(b) Begam Nihal was mentally unwell.
(c) Mir Nihal could not afford to keep everyone in his house.
(d) Asghar had angered his father.

4. How old is Mir Nihal?
(a) 69.
(b) 55.
(c) 75.
(d) 62.

5. In Part I, Chapter 4, who asks Asghar, "When are we going to hear the good news of your marriage?" (20)?
(a) Bilqeece.
(b) Mir Nihal.
(c) Bundoo.
(d) His sister-in-law.

6. What does Asghar's strategy seem to be in bringing up the death of Begam Waheed's husband?
(a) He wants to flatter his sister for her courage and then elicit her pity because people do not respect him as they respect her.
(b) He wants to trigger her yearning to be with her family so that she will be feeling especially loving toward him.
(c) He wants to make her feel emotionally vulnerable so that she gratefully recalls how much she has always relied on him.
(d) He wants to remind her of how important her marriage was to her and compare this with his own feelings about marriage.

7. As Mir Nihal hurries to Babban Jan's on Friday night, what does he hear both a song and a poem about?
(a) Love.
(b) Old age.
(c) Death.
(d) Faith.

8. To whom does Sheikh Mohammad Sadiq wish to marry his niece?
(a) Asghar.
(b) Ghafoor.
(c) Masroor.
(d) Majeed.

9. In Part II, Chapter 4, what thought makes Mir Nihal suddenly feel guilty and stop eating?
(a) The deaths of the pigeons were a result of his distraction over a mistress.
(b) Babban Jan is dead and he should not be enjoying himself.
(c) He was not present at Babban Jan's death because he was busy with his birds.
(d) He has neglected his responsibilities to his wife and children.

10. What is the "prescription written on the southern gate of the Jama Masjid" a recipe for (88)?
(a) A powerful charm.
(b) An antidote to poison.
(c) A "universal elixir."
(d) Gold.

11. What causes Mir Nihal to be so depressed that he does not fly his pigeons one afternoon in Chapter 2?
(a) The heat-related deaths of some of his birds.
(b) His worries over Babban Jan.
(c) His concern over the illness of Begam Jamal and Masroor.
(d) The diminishing role he plays in his own household.

12. Why did Mir Nihal forbid Asghar to study at Aligarh?
(a) Mir Nihal thinks that studying at Aligarh will alienate his son from Islam.
(b) Mir Nihal has heard that Aligarh admits female students.
(c) Mir Nihal does not have the money for Aligarh's tuition.
(d) Mir Nihal thinks that the curriculum at Aligarh is too difficult for Asghar.

13. What is the Eed (Eid) referred to in Part II, Chapter 6?
(a) A feast held during the time of the Hajj pilgrimage.
(b) The Islamic New Year celebration.
(c) A celebration held at the end of Ramadan.
(d) A celebration held to commemorate the birth of Mohammad.

14. Besides being "piercing," what other quality does the narrator say Mushtari Bai's eyes have (52)?
(a) They are "shaded with uncertainty."
(b) They are "full of night."
(c) They are "poisonous."
(d) They are "luminous."

15. Who is the poet who wrote the words to the song that Gul Bano sings?
(a) Bahadur Shah.
(b) Mir Taqi Mir.
(c) Ghalib.
(d) Mir Babar Ali Anis.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Asghar go to see Mushtari Bai in Chapter 11?

2. What does Begam Nihal say is causing the illness in the Nihal household?

3. What advice does Bari give Asghar about his love life?

4. What is implied by the snippet of poetry that Mir Nihal thinks about at the end of Part II, Chapter 1?

5. What word do the older people like Begam Nihal use to refer to the place where they live?

(see the answer keys)

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