Reading Comprehension practice From The Beggar By Anton Chekhov

Reading Comprehension practice From The Beggar By Anton Chekhov

Reading Comprehension practice From The Beggar By Anton Chekhov: Here are three passages from “The Beggar,” each followed by 10 multiple-choice questions designed for a reading comprehension test.

Reading Comprehension Test: Passage 1 ⚖️

Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:

An advocate, Skvortsov, was accosted by a ragged, fawn-coloured overcoated individual with dull, drunken eyes and a red spot on either cheek. “Kind sir, have pity; turn your attention to a poor, hungry man! For three days I have had nothing to eat,” the mendicant began. “I was a village schoolteacher for eight years and lost my place through intrigues. It is a year now since I have had anything to do.”

Skvortsov looked at the man’s overshoes, one high and the other low, and suddenly remembered something. “Look here, it seems to me I met you the day before yesterday in Sadovya Street,” he said, “but you told me then that you were a student who had been expelled, and not a village schoolteacher. Do you remember?”

“N-no, that can’t be so,” mumbled the beggar, taken aback. “I am a village schoolteacher, and if you like I can show you my papers.”

“Have done with lying! You called yourself a student and even told me what you had been expelled for. Don’t you remember?” Skvortsov flushed and turned from the ragged creature with an expression of disgust. “This is swindling!” he cried angrily. “I shall send the police for you, damn you!”

Multiple-Choice Questions (Passage 1)

1. What was Skvortsov’s profession?
   a) A doctor
   b) A teacher
   c) An advocate
   d) A merchant
   Answer: c) An advocate
2. The beggar is also referred to in the passage as a…?
   a) Client
   b) Student
   c) Mendicant
   d) Teacher
   Answer: c) Mendicant
3. What lie did the beggar first tell Skvortsov?
   a) He was a hungry student
   b) He was a sick farmer
   c) He was a village schoolteacher
   d) He was a poor soldier
   Answer: c) He was a village schoolteacher
4. Where did Skvortsov remember seeing the beggar before?
   a) At the theatre
   b) In Sadovya Street
   c) Near his office
   d) At the market
   Answer: b) In Sadovya Street
5. What had the beggar previously claimed to be?
   a) A schoolteacher
   b) A factory worker
   c) A hungry farmer
   d) An expelled student
   Answer: d) An expelled student
6. What did the beggar offer to show Skvortsov as proof?
   a) His identity card
   b) His papers
   c) His old books
   d) A letter
   Answer: b) His papers
7. How did Skvortsov feel after exposing the beggar’s lie?
   a) Amused
   b) Confused
   c) Sympathetic
   d) Angry and disgusted
   Answer: d) Angry and disgusted
8. The word “swindling” means…?
   a) Begging
   b) Cheating
   c) Working
   d) Crying
   Answer: b) Cheating
9. Skvortsov threatened to send __ for the beggar.
   a) A doctor
   b) His servant
   c) The police
   d) His friend
   Answer: c) The police
10. What was a noticeable feature of the beggar’s eyes?
    a) They were bright
    b) They were blue
    c) They were dull and drunken
    d) They were closed
    Answer: c) They were dull and drunken

Reading Comprehension Test: Passage 2 🪵

Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:

“Work? What kind of work can I do?” “Anything you like. Will you chop wood?” “I wouldn’t refuse to do that, but in these days even skilled woodcutters find themselves sitting without bread.” “Will you come and chop wood for me?” “Yes, sir, I will.”

Skvortsov hurried home and called his cook out of the kitchen. “Here, Olga,” he said, “take this gentleman into the woodshed and let him chop wood.” The cook cast a scornful glance at the beggar, shrugged her shoulders, and angrily banged the door. The pseudo-teacher seated himself on a log and became lost in thought. He did not feel the slightest inclination for toil.

Skvortsov hurried into the dining-room. From its windows one could see the woodshed and everything that went on in the yard. Standing at the window, Skvortsov saw the cook and the beggar come out into the yard. Olga glared wrathfully at her companion, shoved him aside with her elbow, unlocked the shed, and angrily banged the door. Next he saw the feeble man seat himself on a log and, propping his cheek on his fists, become lost in thought. Olga flung down an axe at his feet and began to scold him.

Multiple-Choice Questions (Passage 2)

1. What was the first job Skvortsov offered to the beggar?
   a) To shovel snow
   b) To chop wood
   c) To dust rugs
   d) To copy letters
   Answer: b) To chop wood
2. The beggar initially hesitated, saying that even __ woodcutters had no work.
   a) Strong
   b) Young
   c) Skilled
   d) Old
   Answer: c) Skilled
3. Who did Skvortsov call to take the beggar to the woodshed?
   a) His wife
   b) His servant
   c) His cook, Olga
   d) His son
   Answer: c) His cook, Olga
4. How did Olga, the cook, first react to the beggar?
   a) With a scornful glance
   b) With a kind smile
   c) With a warm welcome
   d) With indifference
   Answer: a) With a scornful glance
5. The passage refers to the beggar as the “pseudo-teacher,” which means he was a…?
   a) Real teacher
   b) Retired teacher
   c) Future teacher
   d) Fake teacher
   Answer: d) Fake teacher
6. From which room could Skvortsov see the woodshed?
   a) The kitchen
   b) The bedroom
   c) The library
   d) The dining-room
   Answer: d) The dining-room
7. How did Olga treat her companion in the yard?
   a) She guided him gently
   b) She shoved him aside
   c) She offered him food
   d) She ignored him
   Answer: b) She shoved him aside
8. After entering the yard, the beggar became…?
   a) Eager to work
   b) Frightened
   c) Lost in thought
   d) Angry
   Answer: c) Lost in thought
9. What did Olga fling down at the beggar’s feet?
   a) A piece of wood
   b) A coin
   c) An axe
   d) A rope
   Answer: c) An axe
10. The passage shows that the beggar had no inclination for…?
    a) Lying
    b) Drinking
    c) Toil
    d) Eating
    Answer: c) Toil

Reading Comprehension Test: Passage 3 ❤️

Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:

Two years went by. One evening, as Skvortsov was standing at the ticket window of a theatre, he saw a little man beside him with a coat collar of curly fur. The individual timidly asked the ticket seller for a seat in the gallery. Skvortsov recognised in the little man his former woodchopper. It was Lushkov.

“Well! What are you doing? Are you getting on all right?” “Pretty well. I am a notary now and am paid thirty-five roubles a month.” “Thank Heaven! That’s fine! I am delighted for your sake. You see, you are my godson, in a sense. I gave you a push along the right path. Do you remember what a roasting I gave you?”

“Thank you, too,” said Lushkov. “If I hadn’t come to you then I might still have been calling myself a teacher or a student. By flying to your protection I dragged myself out of a pit.”

“I am very glad, indeed. But, strictly speaking, it was my cook, Olga, who saved you.” “How is that?” “When you used to come to our house to chop wood she used to begin: ‘Oh, you sot, you! Oh, you miserable creature!’ And then she would sit down opposite you and grow sad, look into your face and weep… She did all the chopping. Do you know, sir, that I did not chop one single stick of wood for you? She did it all.”

Multiple-Choice Questions (Passage 3)

1. How long had passed before Skvortsov met Lushkov again?
   a) One year
   b) Two years
   c) Three years
   d) Six months
   Answer: b) Two years
2. Where did Skvortsov meet Lushkov again?
   a) In the street
   b) At a law office
   c) At a theatre
   d) At a church
   Answer: c) At a theatre
3. What was Lushkov’s new profession?
   a) A teacher
   b) A writer
   c) A notary
   d) An actor
   Answer: c) A notary
4. How much was Lushkov earning per month?
   a) Twenty roubles
   b) Thirty-five roubles
   c) Fifty roubles
   d) One hundred roubles
   Answer: b) Thirty-five roubles
5. Skvortsov referred to Lushkov as his…?
   a) Friend
   b) Brother
   c) Godson
   d) Client
   Answer: c) Godson
6. Lushkov admitted that if he hadn’t met Skvortsov, he might still be…?
   a) Working hard
   b) Lying for money
   c) Living in the village
   d) Chopping wood
   Answer: b) Lying for money
7. Who did Skvortsov say had actually saved Lushkov?
   a) Himself
   b) The police
   c) His cook, Olga
   d) Lushkov’s own will
   Answer: c) His cook, Olga
8. Who did Lushkov reveal had actually chopped all the wood?
   a) Skvortsov
   b) Lushkov himself
   c) Another servant
   d) Olga
   Answer: d) Olga
9. What would Olga do after scolding Lushkov?
   a) Laugh at him
   b) Sit and weep
   c) Leave the shed
   d) Report to Skvortsov
   Answer: b) Sit and weep
10. This passage reveals that Lushkov’s reform was truly inspired by…?
    a) Fear of the police
    b) The money he earned
    c) Skvortsov’s stern lectures
    d) Olga’s selfless compassion
    Answer: d) Olga’s selfless compassion