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Not Just Another Russian
In
1828, baby Leo was born into the rich and powerful Tolstoy
family of Central Russia. He would grow up to write two of the greatest novels
in the history of literature and inspire
social reform that would make an
impact on the world. Not just another Russian author, Leo
Tolstoy was a teacher, a philosopher, and the grandfather of non-violent
revolution.
Tolstoy was an unsettled young man. He was a poor student
who left his university when he could find no meaning in his studies. He
joined the army but could not endure
the violence and soon left that as well. By this time, Tolstoy
was being noticed as a writer but he still felt unfulfilled. It
was during this time that Tolstoy wrote his most famous books, War and Peace and
Anna Karenina. In them, Tolstoy offered
a new kind of fiction to Russian readers. He described events and
characters so detailed and
convincing that they blurred the line
between the imaginary and real life. In Tolstoy's version, it was not great
leaders that moved history, but the common people. His work has been called,
"not art, but a piece of life."
Tolstoy suffered a mid-life
crisis after writing Anna Karenina. Giving up his fortune to
live among the peasants, he decided he must find the meaning of
life or else kill himself. What he found came from the core of
his Christian faith—universal love and passive resistance to
evil. Gandhi later adopted this
message in his campaign to free India. Martin Luther King, Jr.
did the same in his fight for racial equality in America. The
effects of passive resistance can still be felt today. Tolstoy was a
gifted writer, but it was his revolutionary ideas that
changed the course of history and the world in which we live.
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1. |
According to the article, which of the following is most true about
Leo Tolstoy? |
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(A) |
He always valued his peasant upbringing. |
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(B) |
His teachers thought he was very smart. |
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(C) |
He was satisfied with his
life after people began noticing his work. |
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(D) |
He struggled to find meaning throughout
his life.
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2. |
What was special about Tolstoy's style of writing? |
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(A) |
He was the first author to address
the issue of war. |
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(B) |
He described important events that really
happened. |
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(C) |
The characters in his books were
very true to life.
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(D) |
He wrote about the great leaders who changed
history. |
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3. |
Tolstoy considered killing himself because he ______. |
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(A) |
had not yet found the meaning of life
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(B) |
was traumatized by his
time in the army |
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(C) |
lost his inspiration for writing |
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(D) |
lost faith in universal
love |
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4. |
How are Ghandi and Tolstoy alike? |
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(A) |
Tolstoy adopted Ghandi's message and wrote about it in his books. |
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(B) |
Tolstoy and Ghandi studied together at the university. |
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(C) |
Ghandi helped Tolstoy find the meaning of life. |
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(D) |
Ghandi used Tolstoy's ideas in his
struggle to free India.
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unsettled |
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tending to change |
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core |
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the basic and most important part of something |
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gifted |
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having special ability in a particular subject or
activity |
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Answers : 1) D 2) C
3) A 4) D |
