The Master and Margarita, Chapter 27: The End of Apartment No. 50 quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. Which case does the narrator call the most scandalous and insoluble of all?

   • The empty suit that went on signing papers at the Commission
   • Correct answer: The theft of Berlioz's head from his coffin at Griboedov's
   • The money that turned into dollars at the Variety's cash desk
   • The staff of an office who could not stop singing together

   The head was stolen right from the coffin in the hall of Griboedov's in broad daylight, which made it the most unpleasant case of all.

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2. 2

   Question 2. Who swears that Styopa never sent him any programme for Woland's performance?

   • Correct answer: Kitaitsev, head of the Commission's programme department
   • Karpov, the messenger sent to apartment no. 50
   • Prokhor Petrovich, chairman of the Spectacles Commission
   • Sempleyarov, chairman of the Acoustics Commission

   Kitaitsev swears to God he never received a programme or a call about Woland, and his eyes show he is as pure as crystal.

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3. 3

   Question 3. What does Prokhor Petrovich do after he returns to his grey striped suit?

   • He tears up every paper the suit signed in his absence
   • He resigns his post as chairman of the Commission
   • He demands that the police arrest his secretary
   • Correct answer: He fully approves every resolution the suit wrote

   Having returned to his suit when the police came, he approved all the resolutions it had written during his short absence.

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4. 4

   Question 4. How does Professor Stravinsky cure the office staff who keep singing 'Glorious Sea'?

   • He has them sleep in the clinic under hypnosis
   • He keeps them in silence for two days in separate rooms
   • Correct answer: He gives them subcutaneous injections within two hours
   • He sends them all to the Crimea to rest for a week

   The narrator notes in passing that Stravinsky put them right within two hours by means of some subcutaneous injections.

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5. 5

   Question 5. What news on Saturday afternoon tells the investigators the apartment is showing signs of life again?

   • Smoke is rising from the chimney above the apartment
   • Correct answer: Piano music and singing, and a black cat on a sill
   • A tall man in a checkered suit is seen at the gates
   • Lights are burning in every room of the apartment

   The report from Sadovaya says the windows were opened from inside, a piano and singing could be heard, and a black cat was basking on a sill.

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6. 6

   Question 6. What role do the two plumbers on the third-floor landing play in the raid?

   • Correct answer: They whisper that the occupants are all at home
   • They turn off the gas so the apartment cannot burn
   • They lock the back door to stop anyone from escaping
   • They refuse to let the armed men pass up the stairs

   The plumbers exchange glances with the newcomers, and one whispers that they are all at home while tapping a pipe with his hammer.

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7. 7

   Question 7. What brings the chandelier crashing down during the raid?

   • A bullet from a Mauser cuts through its chain
   • Behemoth swings on it until its hook gives way
   • The heat of the fire melts its metal fastening
   • Correct answer: The lasso thrown at the cat catches on a candle

   One more attempt is made to catch the cat; the lasso catches on one of the candles and the chandelier falls.

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8. 8

   Question 8. Which of these events from the investigation actually happen in Chapter 27?

   • Rimsky admits that he saw Hella at his office window.

     Didn't happen

     Rimsky insists he saw no Hella at his office window at night, nor any Varenukha; he says he simply felt bad and left for Leningrad.

   • Annushka is let go with a pass written on a green slip.

     Happened

     Everyone is sick of her balderdash, so the investigator writes Annushka a pass on a green slip of paper and she leaves the building.

   • Varenukha says he was beaten by a red-haired man and a fat one.

     Happened

     Once calmed down, Varenukha admits he drank no starka under a fence but was beaten by two, one red-haired with a fang, the other fat.

   • Sempleyarov refuses to tell the investigators the magician's name.

     Didn't happen

     Sempleyarov is a helpful witness: he describes the masked magician and his two assistants and remembers well that the magician's name was Woland.

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9. 9

   Question 9. Which of these events from the raid on apartment no. 50 actually happen in Chapter 27?

   • A net meant for the cat catches a crystal pitcher instead.

     Happened

     The net is cast at the cat on the mantelpiece, but it misses and catches only the crystal pitcher, which smashes.

   • Koroviev fires at the raiders from the bedroom doorway.

     Didn't happen

     Koroviev is not found in the apartment; the one who fires at the raiders is the cat, with his Browning, from the swinging chandelier.

   • The cat's thrown Browning knocks out both panes of a window.

     Happened

     Before he leaves, the cat hurls his Browning and knocks out both window panes, then splashes benzene that catches fire by itself.

   • The raiders find Woland asleep in the bedroom and seize him.

     Didn't happen

     The men search every room and find no one anywhere, only the remains of a just-abandoned breakfast and the cat on the mantelpiece.

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10. 10

    Question 10. What does 'juxtaposition' mean as used in: 'And the juxtaposition of Arkady Apollonovich's testimony with the testimony of others'?

    • A formal written record of a statement
    • A sharp disagreement between witnesses
    • Correct answer: A placing of things side by side to compare
    • A secret agreement to hide the truth

    The investigators set Sempleyarov's account beside the others' accounts, and the comparison points them to apartment no. 50.

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does 'balderdash' mean as used in: 'she went off into some balderdash about not being answerable'?

    • A careful legal argument
    • A loud and angry complaint
    • Correct answer: Senseless talk; nonsense
    • A tearful apology or plea

    Annushka rambles on about the house management until everyone is sick of her, so her words are dismissed as nonsense.

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12. 12

    Question 12. What does 'admixture' mean as used in: 'with an admixture of some hypnotic tricks and distinct criminality'?

    • A clear proof or evidence
    • A careful plan or scheme
    • A public show or display
    • Correct answer: An added element mixed in

    The case smells of devilry with hypnosis and crime mixed into it, which is how the investigators try to explain it.

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