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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. Whom does the Bureau's song recommend should be "killed" by a walk in the countryside with "the good, the hearty guys" (9)?
(a) The hermit.
(b) The loner.
(c) The outsider.
(d) The artist.

2. How late is Ivanovich running on the morning the tour leaves?
(a) 18 minutes.
(b) 12 minutes.
(c) 3 minutes.
(d) 1 minute.

3. What does Ivanovich enjoy reading?
(a) Russian lyrical poetry.
(b) German Classical poetry.
(c) English metaphysical poetry.
(d) French Baroque poetry.

4. From context, what is the likely meaning of the word "dactyl" in "On the other side...towered, arising from dactyl to dactyl, an ancient black castle" (14)?
(a) An architectural figure of a bird.
(b) A tower in the shape of a digit, like a toe or finger.
(c) An image found in a metrical foot of poetry.
(d) A type of stone used in medieval constructions.

5. What is unusual about the four people who work together?
(a) All of them quit their jobs right before this trip.
(b) The men are married to the two women's sisters.
(c) They work for the same employer but have never met until this trip.
(d) Two have the same last name and two have the same first name.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. What is the tour group doing in the passage that says "they raised dust along a highway" (12)?

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

4. The group leader wears "Tyrolese" clothing. What is true of his clothing?

5. What is the job of the older man who talks to Ivanovich about Russia?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. On the third day of the tour, what does Ivanovich see that makes him feel the happiness he dreamed he might find on the trip?

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

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

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

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

7. What happens when Ivanovich declares that he will stay at the lake instead of returning to Berlin?

8. Describe the leader of the group excursion.

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

10. 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?

(see the answer keys)

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