The Short Story: A Slander Quiz Worksheet Part I Last Name ____________________________________ Date ______________ First Name ____________________________________ Period 5 This part is due at the end of the period today! 1. Who is the author of this short story? ______________________ 2. How do the characters often appear in Checkhov stories? ______________________ 3. What kind of teacher is Sergei Ahineyev? ______________________ 4. Who is Natalia marrying? ______________________ 5. What was the topic of conversation amongst the math teacher, French teacher and the tax assessor? _____________________________________________________________ 6. Who was discussing "cases in which a sentry has the right to shoot at passers-bye?" _________________________ 7. Why were people looking through the windows? _________________________ 8. Who is Marfa? _________________________ 9. What is a sturgeon? _________________________ 10. Ahineyev was so happy with the aromas he said he could eat up the whole what? _________________________ 11. What two edibles surround the sturgeon? a. _______________________ b. _______________________ 12. What did Ahineyev do with his lips? __________________________ 13. Vankin accuses Ahineyev of doing what to Marfa? __________________________ 14. How does Ahineyev respond to this accusation? __________________________ 15. Ahineyev decides the best way to squelch the rumor he is sure Vankin is spreading is what? __________________________ 16. Whom does Ahineyev refer to as one who "looks like a beast?" __________________________ 17. After telling his story over and over how many glasses too much did Ahineyev drink? __________________________ 18. A week later, who told Ahineyev that his "kissing" of Marfa was not becoming of a teacher? __________________________ 19. After his lecture and on the way home, Ahineyev felt who was staring at him? __________________________ 20. Why does Ahineyev's wife call him a Mohammedan? __________________________ 21. What does Vankin say when Ahineyev accuses him of slander? __________________________ 22. Whom do you think was spreading the rumor about Ahineyev and Marfa? Explain. ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ 23. What are two things that Chekhov's story reveals about Russian society in the nineteenth century? a. ___________________________________________________________ b. ___________________________________________________________ 24. As you know, irony is the contrast between what appears to be true and what actually is true. What is ironic about Ahineyev telling the story over and over? __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ SYNONYM, COMPARISON, CONTRAST, EXAMPLE Use synonym, clues, comparison clues, contrast clues, or example clues to find the meaning of the underlined words in the sentences below. Write the meaning of the word. Also tell what kind of clue you used. 1. But I saw that everything within my view which ought to be white, had been white long ago, and had lost its luster, and was faded and yellow. Meaning: _____________________________________________________ Type of Clue: __________________________________________________ 2. The kitchen was full of fumes from the goose and duck, mixed with many other smells. Meaning: _____________________________________________________ Type of Clue: __________________________________________________ 3. She was dressed in rich materials -- satins, and lace, and silks -- all of white. Meaning: _____________________________________________________ Type of Clue: __________________________________________________ 4. And he lost his temper, irritated, angered and upset because nobody would believe him. Meaning: _____________________________________________________ Type of Clue: __________________________________________________ 5. "Why did you smear me with mud before the entire world? Why did you slander me?" Meaning: _____________________________________________________ Type of Clue: __________________________________________________ INFERRING THE MEANINGS OF IDIOMS Idioms are phrases that mean something different from meanings of the individual words. For instance, in the sentence "When Joe discovered his bike had been stolen, he blew his fuse" the phrase blew his fuse does not refer to an electrical problem. The context tells you that it means Joe was angry. Read each idiom below, taken from "The Piece of String." Use inference to determine meaning of the idiom. The idioms are underlined. 1. All the aristocracy of the plough took its meals at Maitre Jourdain's. Innkeeper and horse dealer, he was a cunning rascal who had made his pile. Meaning: ___________________________________________________ 2. "What really got my goat," he said, "wasn't so much the thing itself,...but the lies. There's nothing worse than being blamed on account of a lie." Meaning: ___________________________________________________ 3. He accosted a farmer from Criquetot, who didn't let him finish his story, but gave him a dig in the ribs and shouted at him: "Go on, you old rogue!" Then he turned on his heels. Meaning: ___________________________________________________ The Short Story: A Slander Quiz Worksheet Part II Last Name ____________________________________ Date ________________ First Name ____________________________________ Period 5 this part is due the next day (after part 1 is completed in class) SIMILE A simile is a comparison, usually between two different things, using the words like or as. For example, She eats like a horse would be an example of simile. Find five simile's in Chekhov's story, A Slander, and write them on the lines provided. Be sure to tell which pages you found them on. 1. ____________________________________________________ pg. _______ 2. ____________________________________________________ pg. _______ 3. ____________________________________________________ pg. _______ 4. ____________________________________________________ pg. _______ 5. ____________________________________________________ pg. _______ VOCABULARY Use a dictionary or the glossary to find the meanings of the underlined words in each of the following statements. The use the word again in your own original sentence. 1. The landlord was such an unsympathetic scoundrel that he evicted the woman during a snowstorm. Definition ________________________________________________ Sentence ________________________________________________ 2. Barry was so hungry, he smacked his lips before the waiter ever brought the meal. Definition ________________________________________________ Sentence ________________________________________________ 3. In a monarchy, the king or queen disposes the affairs of state. Definition ________________________________________________ Sentence ________________________________________________ 4. When her mother found the chair was broken, Shari was cunning enough to make her believe someone else had done it. Definition ________________________________________________ Sentence ________________________________________________ 5. The boy acted like a barbarian, running around the room and shrieking like an animal. Definition ________________________________________________ Sentence ________________________________________________ In a paragraph, explain why you think A Slander is a humorous story or a serious story.