The Master and Margarita, Chapter 3: The Seventh Proof quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. When Berlioz asks in a quavering voice how long the professor has been in Moscow, what is the answer?

   • Since early that same morning
   • Correct answer: He just arrived this very minute
   • For about a week, at the Metropol
   • Ever since the spring began

   The professor says perplexedly that he just arrived in Moscow this very minute, and only then do the friends look closely at his eyes.

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2. 2

   Question 2. After pretending that Pilate's balcony is all very possible, what does Berlioz ask the professor?

   • Correct answer: Whether he came alone or with his wife
   • Whether he wanted a guided tour of the city
   • Whether he could show his papers
   • Whether he had actually met Kant

   Berlioz humors him and asks whether he came alone or with his wife; the professor bitterly replies that he is always alone.

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3. 3

   Question 3. Which of these events happen while Berlioz and Homeless sit with the professor?

   • Berlioz winks at Homeless behind the professor's back.

     Happened

     Berlioz leans back and winks to Homeless behind the professor's back, meaning don't contradict him, but the puzzled poet does not understand the signal.

   • Homeless agrees to escort the professor to the Metropol.

     Didn't happen

     It is Berlioz who praises the rooms at the Metropol; Homeless is left, unwillingly, to guard the professor while Berlioz goes off to telephone.

   • A sparrow flies out of the linden when the professor laughs.

     Happened

     The professor bursts into such laughter that a sparrow flies out of the linden over the seated men's heads.

   • The professor says that he is always alone.

     Happened

     Asked whether he came alone or with his wife, the professor replies bitterly that he is always alone.

   • Berlioz reaches a telephone and calls the foreigners' bureau.

     Didn't happen

     Berlioz never reaches a telephone: at the turnstile by Bronnaya he slips and is thrown onto the rails before he can make the call.

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4. 4

   Question 4. What does the professor beg of Berlioz before he goes off to make his call?

   • That he book him a room at the Metropol
   • That he stay away from the Massolit meeting
   • That he send a telegram to the professor's family
   • Correct answer: That he at least believe the devil exists

   The professor implores Berlioz to believe that the devil exists, promising a seventh proof that will be presented right now.

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5. 5

   Question 5. Which detail makes Berlioz wonder whether Homeless is right about the stranger after all?

   • The professor's accent suddenly disappears
   • The professor's laugh scares off a sparrow
   • Correct answer: The professor knows about his uncle in Kiev
   • The professor knows his name and patronymic

   Berlioz explains away his name as something from a newspaper, but no newspaper ever mentioned a Kievan uncle, so he begins to doubt.

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6. 6

   Question 6. Where does Berlioz set out for when he leaves to make his phone call?

   • A pavilion under the linden trees
   • The lobby of the Metropol hotel nearby
   • Correct answer: The exit at the corner of Bronnaya and Yermolaevsky Lane
   • The editorial office across the Ponds

   Berlioz sets out for the exit from the Ponds at the corner of Bronnaya and Yermolaevsky Lane, heading for the nearest public telephone.

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7. 7

   Question 7. What does the checkered citizen ask Berlioz for at the exit?

   • A newspaper with the day's headlines
   • Directions to the nearest telephone
   • A cigarette and a light for his pipe
   • Correct answer: A tip for his directions, a little pint pot

   After pointing the way to the turnstile, the self-styled ex-choirmaster asks for a little pint pot for his information.

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8. 8

   Question 8. Why does Berlioz move back from the turnstile just before he falls?

   • He hears the professor shouting his name
   • Correct answer: He decides to retreat though he is already safe
   • He sees the checkered man following him
   • He is jostled by people at the turnstile

   Though standing in a safe place, the prudent Berlioz decides to retreat behind the stile, and that step back is when his hand slips.

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9. 9

   Question 9. Which of these details are part of Berlioz's death at the tram line?

   • Red and white light splashes in Berlioz's face from a lit sign.

     Happened

     As Berlioz takes hold of the turnstile, a warning sign about the tram-car lights up in a glass box and splashes red and white light in his face.

   • Berlioz cries out loudly as he falls onto the rails.

     Didn't happen

     The text says Berlioz did not cry out; it was the whole street around him that screamed with women's voices.

   • The woman driver tears at the electric brake.

     Happened

     The woman driver, her face white with horror, tears at the electric brake, and the car digs its nose into the ground.

   • The checkered citizen pushes Berlioz onto the rails.

     Didn't happen

     No one pushes him: his hand slips on the crossbar, one foot slides down the cobbled slope as if on ice, and he is thrown onto the rails.

   • Glass flies from the tram-car's windows.

     Happened

     When the car digs in and jumps up, glass flies from its windows with a crash and a jingle.

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10. 10

    Question 10. What does the chapter go on to show about the plan the narrator says 'must be acknowledged as correct'?

    • Correct answer: Carrying out the sensible plan leads to his death
    • The plan was secretly suggested by Homeless himself
    • The professor was the one who proposed the plan
    • Berlioz never really intends to carry out the plan at all

    The plan is reasonable, yet running to the telephone takes Berlioz to the turnstile where the professor's prophecy comes true.

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does 'brashly' mean in: 'the madman suddenly said brashly, and winked'?

    • Correct answer: In a bold, cheeky way
    • In a slow, careful way
    • In a frightened, shaky way
    • In a sad, quiet way

    Brashly means boldly and cheekily; the professor announces without embarrassment that he will live in Berlioz's apartment.

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12. 12

    Question 12. What does 'balderdash' mean in: 'at a loss from all this balderdash'?

    • Strange and unfamiliar foreign words
    • Correct answer: Nonsense or senseless talk
    • Frightening threats of harm
    • Loud, angry, and rude shouting

    Balderdash is nonsense; Homeless is fed up with what he hears as the professor's senseless claims.

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13. 13

    Question 13. What does 'unimpeded' mean in: 'one foot, unimpeded, as if on ice'?

    • Wounded, scraped, and badly bruised
    • Held firmly in one place by the rail
    • Bare, without any shoe or boot on it
    • Correct answer: Moving with nothing to stop it

    Unimpeded means not blocked or slowed; nothing stops Berlioz's foot from sliding down the cobbled slope toward the rails.

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