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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

8. Whom does Pahom accuse of stripping his trees?
(a) The head of the commune.
(b) Simon.
(c) The innkeeper.
(d) His brother-in-law.

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

10. 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.

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

12. When Pahom feels "aggrieved," what is he feeling?
(a) So angry he cannot think clearly.
(b) Sad for something he has lost.
(c) Greedy.
(d) As if someone has harmed him.

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

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Who calls Pahom's land a "narrow hole"?

2. What agreement does Pahom come to with the landowner?

3. What does the expression "racked his brains" mean?

4. What bothers Pahom the most about the stripping of bark from his trees?

5. How does Pahom's wife defend their life to her sister?

(see the answer keys)

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