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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What had Gurdjieff promised himself to do after completing his first series of writing?
(a) consult with all his learned tutors
(b) drink all the bottles of Calvados in the wine cellar of the Prieure
(c) visit his relatives and friends and relax
(d) go on a vacation to the Black Sea

2. What has the literature of contemporary civilization to give according to Gurdjieff?
(a) the development of "lies"
(b) the development of "word prostitution"
(c) the development of "an illusory view of life"
(d) the development of "superficiality in everyday life"

3. How did Gurdjieff and Pogossian secure passage on a ship to Egypt?
(a) They got jobs as crew members on an Egyptian ship.
(b) They sneaked on board a ship destined for Alexandria
(c) They came to the aid of some English sailors in a fight.
(d) The bribed a ship's captain to take them to Egypt.

4. What was the title of the first book in Gurdjieff's series?
(a) " My Father's Tales to Me"
(b) "Ancient Wisdom of the East"
(c) "Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson"
(d) " My Travels throughout Turkey, Egypt and the Far East"

5. How does Gurdjieff first meet Dean Borsh?
(a) after joining the cathedral choir
(b) in his father's workshop
(c) on a street in Kars, his childhood home town
(d) at a funeral of a family friend

6. What would Gurdjieff's father do on evenings before Sundays and holidays?
(a) write letters to his friends
(b) lay out his clothes for Sunday
(c) tell stories to his children
(d) go to bed late

7. What did Sokolov teach Gurdjieff?
(a) mathematics and geography
(b) anatomy and physiology
(c) Scripture and history
(d) physics and mathematics

8. Who was Vseslavsky?
(a) an army chaplain friend of Bogchevsky
(b) a fellow-countryman of Bogachevsky and an army engineer
(c) Bogachevsky's brother-in-law
(d) Bogachevsky's childhood friend

9. How does Gurdjieff remember Pogossian?
(a) as a fellow adventurer who never achieved his goals
(b) as a lazy but dear friend
(c) as a simple man with a deep faith
(d) as a workaholic who became a wealthy ship owner

10. Why did the subject of spiritualism make a strong impression on Gurdjieff?
(a) because his dead sister appeared to him in a dream
(b) because he wanted to believe in immortality
(c) because he wanted to take part in a seance
(d) because of the recent death of his favorite sister

11. What did Bogachevsky counsel men to do in order to live a moral life?
(a) a man should follow his own conscience and not heed others
(b) a man should try to please others
(c) a man should travel the world and observe people
(d) a man should study many subjects and become educated

12. What, in Gurdjieff's opinion, has harmed contemporary literature?
(a) the grammars of all languages
(b) not enough good writers
(c) writers seeking fame rather than quality
(d) readers who are easily taken in by inferior, sensational writing

13. What did Father Borsh look like?
(a) He was large and robust with a ruddy complexion
(b) He was tall and thin, with a fine-looking face
(c) He was short and fat and wore glasses
(d) He was tall and big-boned with an intelligent face

14. What is the other name Bogachevsky goes by?
(a) Father Evlissi
(b) Abbot of Kars
(c) Brother Peter
(d) Father Essene

15. Which two animals did Gurdjieff feel a man should embody?
(a) the serpent and the dove
(b) the wolf and the sheep
(c) the wolf and the kid
(d) the lamb and the lion

Short Answer Questions

1. What state did Gurdjieff experience, according to Mullah Nassr Eddin's words, after many sleepless nights?

2. Why did Gurdjieff go to Alexandropol?

3. Who was the fortuneteller whom Gurdjieff's aunt consulted?

4. What did Pogossian do after graduating from the seminary?

5. What did Gurdjieff and Pogossian pursue together?

(see the answer keys)

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