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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How does the narrator describe the fate of the accused person if he found himself innocent in the arena?
(a) "He was crowned on the spot and sent to live in the north."
(b) "He was given a dukedom and several villagers to work for him."
(c) "He was exiled and told never to return."
(d) "He was rewarded on the spot, whether he liked it or not."

2. Who leads the criminal to his new home after the ceremony if he is proven innocent in the arena?
(a) The king and his court.
(b) The princess.
(c) The priest.
(d) Children with flowers.

3. What does the narrator remark regarding the unpredictability of the trials at the arena?
(a) It "gave an apprehension to the audience and a lack of interest."
(b) It "gave the spectators a sense of tension and fear, and always reminded them to stay in line."
(c) It "brought forth tears of excess for the populace."
(d) It "lent an interest to the occasion which it could not otherwise have attained."

4. How does the narrator describe the fairness of the arena in Part 3?
(a) "Its perfect fairness is obvious."
(b) "Its fairness was much disputed."
(c) "It was as fair as the guillotine."
(d) "Its fairness, or lack thereof, was cautionary."

5. What prevents the sounds of "noise or suggestion" behind the doors in the arena?
(a) Walls of wood.
(b) The murmering of the masses.
(c) Walls of heavy steel.
(d) Heavily curtained skins.

6. What does the word "fervent" mean in the narrative?
(a) Decayed.
(b) Dismal or barren.
(c) Burning or ardent.
(d) Secular.

7. Where in relation to the twin doors does the king sit in the arena?
(a) Above the doors.
(b) Below the doors.
(c) Behind the doors.
(d) Across from the doors.

8. What is described as waiting behind a second door in Part 3 of the story?
(a) A sword.
(b) A dagger.
(c) A lady.
(d) A throne.

9. What door does the courtier go to open in the end of Part 4?
(a) The right door.
(b) The upper door.
(c) The left door.
(d) The middle door.

10. What word from the story refers to doubt or unpredictability?
(a) Viscosity.
(b) Uncertainty.
(c) Incorrigible.
(d) Luminosity.

11. How is the princess's lover described in Part 4 of the story?
(a) "He was handsome and brave to a degree unsurpassed in all this kingdom."
(b) "He was domineering and regal and above the king's station."
(c) "He was meritless save for his capacity of mind."
(d) "He was short and muscular, and intelligent to a degree unsurpassed in all this kingdom."

12. The narrator says in the conclusion of Part 3, "Did not the accused person have" what?
(a) "The whole matter in his own hands?"
(b) "An ability to appeal his fate?"
(c) "A system of logic at play in the affair?"
(d) "A fair and impartial jury?"

13. What word from the story refers to a court of justice?
(a) Recitative.
(b) Tribunal.
(c) Proscenium.
(d) Aria.

14. The narrator says of the courtier in Part 4 that "his quick and anxious glance asked the question." What question does he ask with his glance?
(a) Which door?
(b) Will I be freed?
(c) Do you love me?
(d) Did you kill him?

15. In Part 4 of the story, the narrator describes the judgment of the masses regarding the courtier by saying, "Of course, everybody knew that the deed with which the accused was charged had" what?
(a) "Been fabricated."
(b) "Not been done."
(c) "Been set up."
(d) "Been done."

Short Answer Questions

1. What word from the story refers to a requital according to merits or deserts?

2. What word from Part 3 of the story refers to the act of bringing into use or operation?

3. What word from Part 4 of the story refers to a formal and authoritative order?

4. What does the word "subordinate" mean in the narrative?

5. Who surveys the kingdom for "maiden youth and beauty" in Part 4 of the story?

(see the answer keys)

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