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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. What technique is used in the story's title?
(a) Non Sequitur.
(b) Asyndeton.
(c) Euphemism.
(d) Euphony.

2. What does Ivanovich associate with happiness?
(a) His friends.
(b) His childhood.
(c) Music.
(d) Work.

3. What is special about the room at the inn by the lake?
(a) Its library.
(b) Its view.
(c) Its price.
(d) Its decor.

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

5. Why does the group make Ivanovich eat a cigarette butt?
(a) He accidentally trips one of the women.
(b) He loses a game.
(c) He tries to read his book.
(d) He speaks Russian in his sleep.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the narrator say is "dangerous for the soul" (7)?

2. What detail is the narrator uncertain if he is remembering correctly?

3. How does Ivanovich get to the train on the morning of his departure?

4. What is the "unusual expression" of the lake's water (14)?

5. What does the narrator remember about the time of year in which the story takes place?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the difference between the narrative descriptions of people and of nature in this story?

2. What is frustrating for Ivanovich about the beauty in the landscapes he sees from the train?

3. How does Ivanovich end up losing the game that they play on the train, and what happens as a consequence?

4. For what two reasons does Ivanovich sleep badly on the night before the trip begins?

5. What does Ivanovich do at each of the train stations on the first day of the trip, and what does this show about his character?

6. What direct characterization of Ivanovich does the narrator offer?

7. With whom does Ivanovich spend the first night, and how does this person keep Ivanovich awake?

8. What does Ivanovich do as soon as he sits down in the train on the first morning of the trip, and what is the group's reaction?

9. How does Ivanovich end up going on a tour that he does not want to go on?

10. Who is Schramm and what function does he serve on the trip?

(see the answer keys)

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