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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Ivanovich do when he first sees the view of the lake?
(a) Presses his hand to his heart.
(b) Begins to weep.
(c) Falls to his knees.
(d) Gasps aloud.

2. In the exclamation "How I hate you, our daily!" what technique is being used (13)?
(a) Dialect.
(b) Allusion.
(c) Synesthesia.
(d) Amplification.

3. What description does the narrator give of the train car on page 5?
(a) It "reeks of holiday revelry."
(b) It is "unmistakably third-class."
(c) It "echoes like a tin box."
(d) It is "cattle-car bare."

4. At what time of the morning is Ivanovich supposed to report for the tour?
(a) 7 a.m.
(b) 11 a.m.
(c) 5 a.m.
(d) 9 a.m.

5. What detail of Ivanovich's appearance seems to impress the narrator?
(a) His healthy complexion.
(b) His elegant clothing.
(c) His neatly trimmed hair.
(d) His athletic physique.

6. What does Ivanovich do to distract himself from "the absurdity and horror of the situation" (6)?
(a) Plays solitaire.
(b) Tries to fall asleep.
(c) Looks out the window at the scenery.
(d) Reads his book.

7. Including Ivanovich and the Bureau employees, how many people are in the tour group?
(a) 12.
(b) 10.
(c) 14.
(d) 8.

8. What is Ivanovich expected to carry during the second day of the tour?
(a) Sausage.
(b) An extra rucksack.
(c) Bread.
(d) His own boots.

9. What is Schramm's job title?
(a) Official sight illuminator.
(b) Special stimulator.
(c) Rural enjoyment monitor.
(d) Narrative guide.

10. Which of the following describes the group leader accurately?
(a) He is badly sunburned.
(b) He is missing one front tooth.
(c) He has unusually long hair.
(d) He has eyes of two different colors.

11. The narrator describes a hill covered with "verdure"; what is this hill covered with?
(a) Cultivated plants.
(b) Sprouting plants.
(c) Rotting plants.
(d) Flourishing plants.

12. At the inn near the lake, what nationality does Ivanovich believe the innkeeper to be?
(a) Austrian.
(b) Russian.
(c) Italian.
(d) German.

13. In the description of the "mother-of-pearl claws on his dirty toes," what is the man with whom Ivanovich spends the night being compared to (12)?
(a) A hidden gem.
(b) A statue.
(c) A laborer.
(d) An animal.

14. One woman is described as "burlesque" (6). From the context, which is most likely true?
(a) She spends most of the trip making jokes.
(b) She seems like an exaggerated caricature.
(c) She works as an exotic dancer in Berlin.
(d) She is uncomfortably flirtatious.

15. What instrument does one of the men insist on teaching Ivanovich to play?
(a) Mandolin.
(b) Balalaika.
(c) Ukulele.
(d) Fiddle.

Short Answer Questions

1. What relationship does Vasili Ivanovich have to the story's narrator?

2. Where is Ivanovich told he will need to get a "certificate of non-absence from the city for the summertime" (3)?

3. When the narrator says that the road "undulated," what is being said of this road (12)?

4. What technique is used in the story's title?

5. How does the text's language change when the group gets off the train at the last stop on the first day?

(see the answer keys)

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