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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why does Mameha say Mother wants Chiyo to fail?
(a) Because Mother has never liked Chiyo.
(b) Because Mother is partial to Hatsumomo.
(c) Because Mother has always been mean-spirited.
(d) Because Mother will owe Mameha a lot of money if she does.

2. What are ekubo?
(a) Incense sticks.
(b) Chopsticks.
(c) Sweet rice cakes.
(d) Crab cakes.

3. How does Hatsumomo paint her lips?
(a) She paints a circle shape.
(b) She paints just the lower lip.
(c) She paints a pouty expression on the lower lip and the full shape of the upper lip.
(d) She paints the full shape of both of the lips.

4. What is hataki komi?
(a) The title of the best sumo wrestler.
(b) The sumo winner's prize.
(c) A sumo move.
(d) A type of sake.

5. How does Hatsumomo manage to show up at every party Mameha and Sayuri are at?
(a) She has bribed Mameha's maid to inform her of Mameha's schedule.
(b) She has bribed Pumpkin to find out about Sayuri's nightly engagements.
(c) She has bribed Auntie to inform her of Sayuri's schedule.
(d) She has bribed the maids in every teahouse to tell her when the two arrive.

Short Answer Questions

1. After she learns that Mother will be adopting Pumpkin, how much time does Mameha say she and Sayuri have to ensure Sayuri's success?

2. What does Nobu say are the three most important things in life?

3. What does Chiyo keep doing when she bows on the street with Mameha that causes Mameha to pull her into an alley and show her the proper way of bowing?

4. In chapter 12 what does the narrator say she did NOT study?

5. Sayuri compares Hatsumomo's beauty to that of an object someone had shown her some years after the story took place. What was the object?

Short Essay Questions

1. Write a brief description of Chiyo's relationship with Auntie as shown in chapters 5 and 6.

2. What caused Nobu's injuries?

3. Briefly explain the Chairman's relationship with Nobu.

4. Why does Mameha refuse to tell Sayuri about her plan?

5. What does Mameha tell Dr. Crab to make him doubt what Hatsumomo has told him?

6. What is "mizuage" and what does it have to do with Mameha's plan to help Sayuri succeed?

7. What does Chiyo, as narrator, say about the art of arranging flowers in chapter 12?

8. What happens to change Dr. Crab's impression of Sayuri in chapter 19?

9. What does Mameha tell Sayuri to do when talking with Nobu, and why?

10. Explain what Sayuri says in chapter 15 at the time of her debut about how she is beginning to feel about Hatsumomo's beauty.

(see the answer keys)

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