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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. On page 19, to what does the narrator compare Ivanovich's return journey, away from the lake?
(a) A "soul-shattering nightmare."
(b) A "cruel, demeaning prank."
(c) A "hideous fairy tale."
(d) A "sinister game."

2. What is discovered when the group members pool their food for dinner?
(a) The women are unwilling to prepare the food for the men.
(b) Most of the food has been spoiled by the long journey.
(c) Some have brought very little food along.
(d) Ivanovich is the only one who has brought something different.

3. What technique is used in the phrase "Wispy clouds—greyhounds of heaven" (6)?
(a) Metonymy.
(b) Allegory.
(c) Metaphor.
(d) Synechdoche.

4. The group leader is "lanky" (5). What does this mean is true about him?
(a) He is tall and thin.
(b) He looks unhealthy.
(c) He is athletic.
(d) He moves stiffly.

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

Short Answer Questions

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

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

3. What does Ivanovich do to distract himself from "the absurdity and horror of the situation" (6)?

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

5. What does the Bureau's song equate with solitude?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. 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?

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

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

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

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

9. What role does singing seem to play on the tour that Ivanovich is on?

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

(see the answer keys)

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