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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. Who is the author of "Cloud, Castle, Lake"?
(a) Leo Tolstoy.
(b) Vladimir Nabokov.
(c) Anton Chekhov.
(d) Ivan Turgenev

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

3. What technique is used in the sentence "The burning sun crept toward a corner of the window and suddenly spilled over the yellow bench" (6)?
(a) Paradox.
(b) Imagery.
(c) Juxtaposition.
(d) Simile.

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

5. What does the Bureau's song equate with solitude?
(a) Criminality.
(b) Independence.
(c) Depression.
(d) Intellect.

Short Answer Questions

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

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

3. What word does the narrator say describes the appearance of "all creatures still unknown to us" (4)?

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

5. What is unusual about the four people who work together?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is it such a relief to Ivanovich when the tour group finally stops for the night at an inn?

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

3. 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?

4. On the second day of the tour, what is Ivanovich doing from early morning until early evening?

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

6. What happens at dinnertime on the first day of the trip?

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

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

9. What kinds of things does Ivanovich feel passion for, and what kinds of things does he dislike?

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

(see the answer keys)

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