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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. 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.

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

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

4. What does Pahom do when the court rules against him?
(a) He quits the commune in protest.
(b) He strips someone else's trees in revenge.
(c) He accuses the judges of taking bribes.
(d) He tries to appeal the case.

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

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

7. How many acres does the local landowner have?
(a) 300.
(b) 13,000.
(c) 40.
(d) 1,300.

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

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

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

11. While the sisters talk, who is hiding behind the oven?
(a) Simon.
(b) The devil.
(c) Pahom's brother-in-law.
(d) The innkeeper.

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

13. The story opens with two sisters. What does the older sister's husband do for a living?
(a) He is a tradesman.
(b) He is a farmer.
(c) He is an innkeeper.
(d) He is a commune leader.

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 judging a contest they were in.
(c) If you were getting ready to do manual labor.
(d) If you were asking to have them predict your future.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. When Pahom feels "aggrieved," what is he feeling?

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

3. Where is Pahom when his wife and her sister are talking?

4. What is Pahom's reaction to the trouble with the steward?

5. Whom does Pahom accuse of stripping his trees?

(see the answer keys)

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