View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Where does the Woman in the Purple Skirt go each week at the start of the story?
(a) A bakery.
(b) The community pool.
(c) The library.
(d) A bar.

2. What game do local children play in the park to see who has to tap the Woman in the Purple Skirt's shoulder?
(a) Tic-tac-toe.
(b) Rock-paper-scissors.
(c) One potato, Two potato.
(d) Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe.

3. What job does the narrator highlight for the Woman in the first job magazine she leaves for her?
(a) Newspaper deliverer.
(b) Telephone operator.
(c) Parcel Sorter.
(d) Office cleaner.

4. What did the narrator overhear Supervisor Tsukada telling the director about the Woman in the Purple Skirt on her first day?
(a) She used to be a famous singer.
(b) She used to own a cafe.
(c) She used to be a short distance runner.
(d) She is being stalked by someone.

5. What did the Woman in the Purple Skirt eat for breakfast on her first day of work?
(a) Cornflakes.
(b) Nothing.
(c) A cream bun.
(d) Rice.

6. What does the narrator do to try to make extra money?
(a) She has yard sales.
(b) She rents out a room in her apartment.
(c) She sells items online.
(d) She sells items at the local bazaar.

7. What does the Supervisor comment to the Woman about after she changes into her uniform on her first day of work?
(a) How overweight she is.
(b) How thin she is.
(c) How unkempt her hair is.
(d) How unusual she is.

8. What does the director condemn the staff for in the first meeting on the Woman's first day?
(a) Missing hotel amenities.
(b) Not smiling enough.
(c) Not wearing their uniforms properly.
(d) Missing too much work.

9. What did the narrator have to pay to repair after bumping into it one day?
(a) A flower shop display window.
(b) A butcher's display cabinet.
(c) A mailbox.
(d) A police car.

10. Why does the narrator feel certain the Woman in the Purple Skirt must not be Arishima-san, whom she knew from school?
(a) Arishima-san moved to Europe.
(b) Arishima-san was her imaginary friend.
(c) Arishima-san passed away several years ago.
(d) Arishima-san was a troublemaker who must be in jail.

11. What does the Woman share with the children at the park after her first day of work?
(a) A cream bun.
(b) Her salary.
(c) An apple.
(d) Champagne.

12. What do the staff say about the agency director's homelife?
(a) His wife bosses him around.
(b) He lives alone.
(c) He is very poor.
(d) He has a lot of wild parties.

13. What family event marked the last time the narrator saw her sister?
(a) Her father's death.
(b) Her parent's divorce.
(c) Her brother's suicide.
(d) Her mother's death.

14. What does the Woman in the Purple Skirt eat on the same bench in the park?
(a) Sushi.
(b) A cream bun.
(c) Noodles.
(d) Pizza.

15. What does the narrator call the bench the Woman in the Purple Skirt sits on each time she goes to the park?
(a) The Woman in the Purple Skirt's BFF.
(b) The Woman in the Purple Skirt's Exclusively Reserved Seat.
(c) The Woman in the Purple Skirt's Happy Place.
(d) The Woman in the Purple Skirt's Favorite Spot.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is the author of The Woman in the Purple Skirt?

2. What does the narrator think people in the neighborhood would say if TV crews asked if they knew the Woman in the Purple Skirt?

3. Why is the narrator unsurprised that the Woman in the Purple Skirt struggles to get hired?

4. What information does the narrator keep in her journal about the Woman in the Purple Skirt?

5. What does the Woman do with the children in the park after her first day of work?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 634 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample