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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is Pahom's reaction to the trouble with the steward?
(a) He takes his anger out on his family.
(b) He takes the steward to court.
(c) He refuses to have any more dealings with the man.
(d) He insists that the family move to a new settlement.

2. Who is the first person that the local landowner offers to sell her land to?
(a) The innkeeper.
(b) The leader of the commune.
(c) Pahom.
(d) Simon.

3. How do Pahom's neighbors retaliate when he takes them to court?
(a) They burn down his barn.
(b) They press charges against him in court.
(c) They get him kicked out of the commune.
(d) They let their animals trespass on his land on purpose.

4. Where is Pahom when his wife and her sister are talking?
(a) Lying on the stove.
(b) Resting in his cot.
(c) Working in the field.
(d) Bringing in loads of wood.

5. What bothers Pahom the most about the stripping of bark from his trees?
(a) Whoever did it cut down a whole clump of trees.
(b) He hates the idea of a stranger being on his land.
(c) He hates the idea of trees being wasted in this way.
(d) Whoever did it also let his cows out of their pen.

6. How far does Pahom walk in order to get to the new settlement?
(a) 130 miles.
(b) 30 miles.
(c) 300 miles.
(d) 3 miles.

7. Who calls Pahom's land a "narrow hole"?
(a) The stranger who stays overnight at Pahom's house.
(b) Pahom.
(c) Pahom's sister-in-law.
(d) Pahom's wife.

8. How many acres does Pahom buy in his first land purchase?
(a) 40.
(b) 1,300.
(c) 300.
(d) 13,000.

9. What is a steward?
(a) Someone who takes care of someone else's property.
(b) An innkeeper.
(c) A shop owner.
(d) Someone who rents the land that they farm or graze animals on.

10. Why does Pahom end up taking his neighbors to court?
(a) The refuse to pay him the rent that they owe him.
(b) Their animals trespass on his land.
(c) They steal his crops.
(d) They disagree about the boundary of his land.

11. What problem does the new steward create for the local peasants?
(a) He fines them when their animals trespass on his employer's land.
(b) He demands payment of the peasants' outstanding loans.
(c) He refuses to sell seed to those who do not own their own land.
(d) He does not supervise his cattle properly.

12. In which situation might someone "grease your palm"?
(a) If you were getting ready to do manual labor.
(b) If you were asking to have them predict your future.
(c) If you were trying to do something you had never done before.
(d) If you were judging a contest they were in.

13. What reaction do the peasants have when they hear rumors about the sale of the land?
(a) They beg the woman not to sell her land.
(b) They decide that they need to buy it themselves.
(c) They go to court to try to add the land to the commune.
(d) They celebrate, because they do not like the landowner.

14. What does the older sister brag about?
(a) Her loyal husband.
(b) Her comfortable life.
(c) Her clever children.
(d) Her housekeeping skill.

15. How does Pahom's wife defend their life to her sister?
(a) She says that living in the countryside is more moral.
(b) She says that their life is quiet and ordinary.
(c) She says that their life is steady and safe.
(d) She says that someday Pahom will make them rich.

Short Answer Questions

1. When the younger sister is "piqued," what is she feeling?

2. Which character says that "Loss and gain are brothers twain"?

3. While the sisters talk, who is hiding behind the oven?

4. Whom does Pahom accuse of stripping his trees?

5. Which character thinks "I'll give you land enough; and by means of that land I will get you into my power"?

(see the answer keys)

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