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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What did Fedya call Platonov in "The Snake Charmer"?
(a) Michael.
(b) Russian.
(c) Igor.
(d) Ivan.

2. What did Pesniakevich's mother own in Minsk? ("Prosthetic Appliances.")
(a) A laundry.
(b) A coffee shop.
(c) A bookstore.
(d) A whore-house.

3. How many parts did the men have to divide their rations into? ("Dry Rations.")
(a) 30.
(b) 60.
(c) 70.
(d) 50.

4. In "A Piece of Meat," how did Golubev always sleep?
(a) Standing.
(b) With a blanket over his head.
(c) Sitting up.
(d) In his clothes.

5. According to Merzlakov, who were the first to die in the camps?
(a) The "scrawny men."
(b) The "hungry men."
(c) The "starved men."
(d) The "larger men."

6. Fedya Shapov had been a member of what league prior to becoming a prisoner?
(a) The Imperialist League.
(b) The Young Communist League.
(c) The Red Power League.
(d) The Youth League of Russia.

7. How many men were standing in the corridor awaiting a strip search? ("Prosthetic Appliances.")
(a) 6.
(b) 3.
(c) 8.
(d) 12.

8. What did the narrator, in "Sententious," claim that each day brought?
(a) The danger of a "lurch into death."
(b) The urge to escape.
(c) The desire to die.
(d) The renewed hope of life.

9. In "Major Pugachov's Last Battle," what did Major Pugachov tell a party boss he was preparing for?
(a) A play.
(b) A trip to the ovens.
(c) A concert.
(d) A transfer to another camp.

10. What appeared on a tree stump at the end of "Sententious"?
(a) A pouch of tobacco.
(b) A pint of vodka.
(c) A clean pair of underware.
(d) A record-player.

11. What article of the Criminal Code defined political prisoners?
(a) 58.
(b) 14.
(c) 67.
(d) 114.

12. In "Shock Therapy," what was described as Merzlakov's former profession?
(a) A grain cutter.
(b) A farmer.
(c) A cattle rancher.
(d) A stable-hand.

13. Why did Kurchen write his letter with his left hand instead of his right?
(a) He was crippled on his right side.
(b) He lost his right hand in the ovens.
(c) He had been shot in the right shoulder.
(d) His right hand had been burned.

14. What did Bagretsov cut his finger on as he lay on the ground near Glebov?
(a) A knife.
(b) A branch.
(c) A rock.
(d) A zipper.

15. Who was denied hot food for refusing to give up his prosthetic arm?
(a) Grisha.
(b) Panin.
(c) Shor.
(d) Karavaev.

Short Answer Questions

1. How many axe handles were the men in "Carpenters" required to make every day?

2. What happened to Garkunov at the end of "On Tick"?

3. Whose job was it to run the bathhouse and disinfect clothes at the work camps?

4. In "The Snake Charmer," how long did Platonov say that he had been in Jankhar?

5. How did the narrator, in "Sententious," perceive the tent in which he slept?

(see the answer keys)

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