View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

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

4. 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 someday Pahom will make them rich.
(d) She says that their life is quiet and ordinary.

5. What agreement does Pahom come to with the landowner?
(a) He will work for her until the land is paid for.
(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 pay for the land over the next ten years, one-tenth at a time.

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

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

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

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

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

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) Life in the countryside is difficult but secure.
(c) The Bashkir are selling land very cheaply.
(d) Life in town is very risky.

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

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

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

15. Which character thinks that "Busy as we are from childhood tilling Mother Earth, we peasants have no time to let any nonsense settle in our heads"?
(a) Simon.
(b) Pahom.
(c) Pahom's wife.
(d) Pahom's sister-in-law.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. In which situation might someone "grease your palm"?

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

4. What problem does the new steward create for the local peasants?

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

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 621 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample