View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What problem does the new steward create for the local peasants?
(a) He does not supervise his cattle properly.
(b) He fines them when their animals trespass on his employer's land.
(c) He demands payment of the peasants' outstanding loans.
(d) He refuses to sell seed to those who do not own their own land.

2. Who calls Pahom's land a "narrow hole"?
(a) Pahom.
(b) Pahom's wife.
(c) The stranger who stays overnight at Pahom's house.
(d) Pahom's sister-in-law.

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

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

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

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

7. 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.

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

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

10. What is Pahom's first reaction when he learns that people are moving to a new settlement?
(a) He tries to get their share of the commune lands.
(b) He worries that there will not be enough workers for his land.
(c) He thinks that maybe he can buy their land.
(d) He wants to sell his land and move.

11. What does Pahom's wife say may happen to a man in town?
(a) He may die of stress.
(b) He may be tempted by the devil.
(c) He may be the victim of crime.
(d) He may become lazy.

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

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

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. How many acres does Pahom buy in his first land purchase?

2. How many acres does the local landowner have?

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

4. What does the older sister brag about?

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

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 636 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample