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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How much of a head start does Zaroff offer his victims?
(a) 3 hours.
(b) 1 day.
(c) 1 hour.
(d) 1/2 day.

2. On the morning of the second day of the hunt, what warns Rainsford that Zaroff is approaching?
(a) The sound of a twig snapping.
(b) The barking of the dogs.
(c) Zaroff's whistling.
(d) The cry of a bird.

3. When Rainsford is waiting in the tree, to whom does he compare Zaroff?
(a) A soldier he knew in the war.
(b) Czar Nicholas.
(c) The devil.
(d) Himself.

4. What spot on the island does Zaroff warn Rainsford to stay away from?
(a) The river.
(b) The cliffs.
(c) The caves.
(d) The swamp.

5. On page 35, Zaroff says that Rainsford's attitude is "like finding a snuffbox in a limousine." What does he mean by this?
(a) That Rainsford's attitude is fussy and somewhat embarrassing.
(b) That Rainsford's attitude is charming but too delicate to survive.
(c) That Rainsford's attitude is old-fashioned and out of place in the modern world.
(d) That Rainsford's attitude is unpleasant and not particularly safe.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is Zaroff's response to being wounded by Rainsford?

2. What is it implied that Zaroff keeps in his library?

3. On page 38, Zaroff calls something that Rainsford says "barbarous." What does this word mean in this context?

4. On page 50, Rainsford thinks of General Zaroff as "zealous." What kind of a person does this mean General Zaroff is?

5. What is the significance of the two trees, where one is leaning on the other?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Zaroff characterize Rainsford's views on hunting human beings?

2. What does Zaroff say about the "strong" and the "weak" (35)?

3. During Rainsford's attempt to escape Zaroff, there are many references to animals. How are they used and what is their significance?

4. What does Zaroff want to show Rainsford in the cellar and in the library, and what does this tell the reader about him?

5. What does General Zaroff's definition of "civilized" seem to be?

6. How does General Zaroff react to Rainsford's various traps?

7. What does the sentence "He was in a picture with a frame of water, and his operations, clearly, must take place within that frame" mean? (49)

8. What are the terms of General Zaroff's "game"?

9. What does Zaroff ask Rainsford to promise him he will do if he wins the "game," and what is the result?

10. Explain at least two ways in which the story's title can be understood.

(see the answer keys)

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