The Master and Margarita, Chapter 9: Koroviev's Stunts quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. When Nikanor Ivanovich asks whether Koroviev is an official person, how does Koroviev answer?

   • Correct answer: He says it depends on your point of view and is all relative
   • He says he is Berlioz's heir, come to claim the empty rooms
   • He says he is a nephew of the Variety's director, Likhodeev
   • He says he is a clerk sent over by the foreign tourist bureau

   Koroviev dodges the question: official and unofficial persons depend on one's point of view, and today's unofficial person may be official tomorrow.

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2. 2

   Question 2. Where does Nikanor Ivanovich say foreigners ought to live, instead of in private apartments?

   • At Griboedov's house
   • At the Variety
   • Correct answer: At the Metropol
   • At a dacha

   The chairman objects that foreigners ought to live at the Metropol; Koroviev replies that Woland does not like hotels.

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3. 3

   Question 3. What happens when the chairman telephones the foreign tourist bureau?

   • It asks him to bring the signed contract in person
   • Correct answer: It already knows of Woland's plan and has no objection
   • It demands that the rent be paid straight to the state
   • It refuses and tells him to send Woland to a hotel

   The matter is settled with amazing speed: the bureau already knew Woland meant to stay in Likhodeev's apartment and had no objections.

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4. 4

   Question 4. When Nikanor Ivanovich sheepishly asks for a free pass, what does Koroviev offer?

   • A private box for the whole tenants' committee
   • One seat in the back row, if the rent is lowered
   • A pass only after the foreigner has approved it
   • Correct answer: As many tickets as he wants, twelve or fifteen

   Koroviev bellows 'Don't mention it!' and offers twelve or fifteen tickets; the chairman asks only for a pass for himself and his wife.

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5. 5

   Question 5. What question suddenly strikes the chairman on the stairs after the deal?

   • Who had actually signed the contract in the bedroom
   • Correct answer: How the interpreter got into the study when it was sealed
   • Why the foreigner would pay ten times the rent he asked
   • Whether Likhodeev had really left Moscow for Yalta

   He wonders how the interpreter got into the sealed study and why he never asked, then decides to spit on it and stop tormenting himself.

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6. 6

   Question 6. Whose name does Koroviev give when he phones in his denunciation of the chairman?

   • Grunya, the daytime housekeeper of apartment no. 50
   • Pelageya Antonovna, the chairman's own wife
   • Correct answer: Timofei Kvastsov, a tenant of apartment no. 11
   • Stepan Likhodeev, the director of the Variety

   Koroviev says he is Timofei Kvastsov of apartment no. 11 and begs that his name be kept secret; the real Kvastsov later vanishes himself.

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7. 7

   Question 7. What do the visitors find when they unwrap the bundle from the ventilation duct?

   • The four hundred roubles, still in their newspaper
   • Woland's passport and the signed rental contract
   • A mocking note in Koroviev's sweeping handwriting
   • Correct answer: Bluish-greenish foreign money with an old man's portrait

   The roubles the chairman hid have become dollars, which is exactly what the anonymous caller reported.

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8. 8

   Question 8. Why does the low voice from the bedroom want Nikanor Ivanovich to stop coming?

   • Correct answer: It judges him a chiseller and a crook
   • He refused to register the foreign passport
   • He threatened to report the broken seal
   • He insisted on meeting the foreigner in person

   The voice says plainly that it did not like him: 'He is a chiseller and a crook.' Koroviev at once arranges his downfall.

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9. 9

   Question 9. What does the chairman's decision to 'spit on' his doubts about the sealed study show about him?

   • Correct answer: He would rather not ask questions that might spoil a profitable deal
   • He plans to report the interpreter to the authorities that evening
   • He regrets having charged the foreign artiste such a small rent
   • He has guessed the foreigner is not human but keeps it to himself

   The thought of the villa, the pass and the absent witnesses outweighs his needle of anxiety; greed makes him choose not to look closely.

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10. 10

    Question 10. Which of these events actually happen in Chapter 9?

    • Nikanor Ivanovich finds Koroviev sitting at Berlioz's desk.

      Happened

      When Nikanor Ivanovich removes the seal and steps into the study, a long citizen in a checkered jacket is sitting at the deceased's desk.

    • Nikanor Ivanovich meets Woland face to face in the bedroom.

      Didn't happen

      Nikanor Ivanovich never sees the foreigner: Koroviev says it is impossible because he is busy training the cat.

    • Koroviev draws up the rental contract in two copies.

      Happened

      Koroviev quickly draws up the contract in two copies at the deceased's writing desk, and the chairman signs it.

    • Nikanor Ivanovich confesses to the visitors that he took a bribe.

      Didn't happen

      Nikanor Ivanovich denies the wad is his, crying that enemies stuck him with it and that he never laid a finger on it.

    • Pelageya Antonovna urges her husband to repent.

      Happened

      When the chairman's briefcase turns out empty, Pelageya Antonovna clasps her hands and cries, "Repent, Ivanych!"

    • The visitors thank Kvastsov for his tip before they leave.

      Didn't happen

      An hour later an unknown citizen beckons Kvastsov to the front hall of apartment no. 11, and the two of them vanish together.

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does 'quiddities' mean as used in: 'interspersed with Koroviev's quips and quiddities'?

    • Nervous coughs and throat clearings
    • Polite bows and clicks of the heels
    • Correct answer: Quibbles and overly clever remarks
    • Long silences and pointed glances

    Quiddities are quibbles or trivial, overly clever remarks, like Koroviev's sayings 'Cash loves counting' and 'Your own eye won't lie.'

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12. 12

    Question 12. What does 'adjure' mean as used in: 'But I adjure you to keep my name a secret.'?

    • To remind gently in passing
    • Correct answer: To beg solemnly, as if under oath
    • To threaten someone with legal action
    • To excuse oneself politely

    To adjure is to urge or command solemnly; Koroviev's false caller pleads earnestly, claiming to fear the chairman's vengeance.

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13. 13

    Question 13. What does 'prudent' mean as used in: 'the practical and prudent Nikanor Ivanovich'?

    • Greedy and quick to take bribes
    • Lazy and slow to act on business
    • Timid and afraid of all foreigners
    • Correct answer: Careful and sensible about risks

    Prudent means cautious and sensible; the chairman insists on clearing the deal with the foreign tourist bureau before he accepts it.

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