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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 first reaction when he learns that people are moving to a new settlement?
(a) He thinks that maybe he can buy their land.
(b) He worries that there will not be enough workers for his land.
(c) He wants to sell his land and move.
(d) He tries to get their share of the commune lands.

2. 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 refuses to sell seed to those who do not own their own land.
(c) He demands payment of the peasants' outstanding loans.
(d) He does not supervise his cattle properly.

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

4. What does the expression "racked his brains" mean?
(a) Searched hard for an answer.
(b) Organized his thoughts.
(c) Felt very sad.
(d) Stared into space without thinking.

5. What does the stranger staying at Pahom's house overnight tell Pahom?
(a) The Bashkir are selling land very cheaply.
(b) That people in the new settlement beyond the Volga are making good money.
(c) Life in the countryside is difficult but secure.
(d) Life in town is very risky.

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

7. What agreement does Pahom come to with the landowner?
(a) He will pay less for the land because he can pay for it all in advance.
(b) He will pay for half of the land up front and half within two years.
(c) He will pay for the land over the next ten years, one-tenth at a time.
(d) He will work for her until the land is paid for.

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

9. Which character thinks "I'll give you land enough; and by means of that land I will get you into my power"?
(a) Pahom's brother-in-law.
(b) Simon.
(c) The local landowner.
(d) The devil.

10. What bothers Pahom the most about the stripping of bark from his trees?
(a) Whoever did it also let his cows out of their pen.
(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 cut down a whole clump of trees.

11. 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 insists that the family move to a new settlement.
(d) He refuses to have any more dealings with the man.

12. When the younger sister is "piqued," what is she feeling?
(a) Cautious.
(b) Curious.
(c) Tired.
(d) Angry.

13. Which character says that "Loss and gain are brothers twain"?
(a) Pahom's wife.
(b) Pahom's sister-in-law.
(c) Pahom.
(d) The local landowner.

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What reaction do the peasants have when they hear rumors about the sale of the land?

2. Whom does Pahom accuse of stripping his trees?

3. The story opens with two sisters. What does the older sister's husband do for a living?

4. What does Pahom's wife say may happen to a man in town?

5. What does Pahom do when the court rules against him?

(see the answer keys)

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