20 multiple-choice (MCQ / objective) questions from this chapter, in the common exam-style shapes. Every question comes with an explanation along with the answer, so you remember why the option is correct, not just which one it is.
1 Direct Questions
Direct Questions
- 1 markWhat does the peddler make and sell?
(A) Leather goods(B) Iron tools(C) Wire rattraps(D) Wooden toys - 1 markWhat does the peddler have to do because his rattrap business is not especially profitable?
(A) He refuses to travel far(B) He sells only in winter(C) He has to also beg and steal to keep body and soul together(D) Rattraps are not in demand - 1 markWhat does the old crofter live on, now that he can no longer do day labour?
(A) His cow’s milk(B) Selling rattraps(C) His pension(D) His savings from the ironworks - 1 markWhat does the peddler realise after getting lost in the forest?
(A) That the ironworks is nearby(B) That the crofter has followed him(C) That he should return the money at once(D) That he himself has fallen into a rattrap - 1 markWhat does the ironmaster realise the next morning, in daylight?
(A) That the peddler has run away(B) That the peddler is a captain after all(C) That the peddler has stolen his silver(D) That the peddler is not really Nils Olof
2 Assertion-Reason
Assertion-Reason
- 1 markAssertion (A): The peddler steals thirty kronor from the crofter who had shown him hospitality.
Reason (R): The peddler later calls the crofter’s money pouch ‘a bait for poor wanderers.’
(A) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A(B) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A(C) A is true, but R is false(D) A is false, but R is true - 1 markAssertion (A): The peddler signs his farewell letter as ‘Captain von Stahle.’
Reason (R): This was, in fact, his real name before he became a peddler.
(A) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A(B) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A(C) A is true, but R is false(D) A is false, but R is true
3 Match the Following
Match the Following
- 1 markMatch the characters in Column A with their identity in Column B, and choose the correct combination.
Column A: (1) The peddler (2) Edla (3) The ironmaster (4) Stjernstrom
Column B: (i) Owner of Ramsjö Ironworks (ii) Master blacksmith (iii) Ironmaster’s daughter (iv) Sells wire rattraps
(A) 1-iii, 2-iv, 3-ii, 4-i(B) 1-ii, 2-i, 3-iv, 4-iii(C) 1-i, 2-ii, 3-iii, 4-iv(D) 1-iv, 2-iii, 3-i, 4-ii - 1 markMatch the term with its meaning as used in the story, and choose the correct combination.
Column A: (1) Crofter (2) Ironmaster (3) Mjolis (4) Peddler
Column B: (i) A card game (ii) One who sells goods while travelling (iii) Owner or manager of an ironworks (iv) A person who rents or owns a small farm
(A) 1-i, 2-iv, 3-ii, 4-iii(B) 1-iv, 2-iii, 3-i, 4-ii(C) 1-ii, 2-i, 3-iv, 4-iii(D) 1-iii, 2-ii, 3-iv, 4-i
4 Statement-Based Questions
Statement-Based Questions
- 1 markStatement I: The peddler steals thirty kronor from the old crofter.
Statement II: The ironmaster immediately recognises the peddler as a stranger he has never met.
(A) Both I and II are false(B) I is true, II is false(C) Both I and II are true(D) I is false, II is true - 1 markStatement I: The peddler leaves the stolen thirty kronor at Ramsjö for Edla, asking her to give them back to the crofter.
Statement II: He leaves a letter explaining his reasons and signs it ‘Captain von Stahle.’
(A) I is false, II is true(B) Both I and II are false(C) I is true, II is false(D) Both I and II are true - 1 markStatement I: The story is set in and around Ramsjö Ironworks in Sweden.
Statement II: The peddler’s real name is revealed at the end of the story.
(A) I is false, II is true(B) Both I and II are false(C) I is true, II is false(D) Both I and II are true
5 Arrange in the Correct Order
Arrange in the Correct Order
- 1 markArrange the following events in the order in which they occur in the story.
(1) The peddler steals the crofter’s thirty kronor
(2) The peddler gets lost in the forest
(3) The peddler asks the crofter for shelter
(4) The peddler hears hammer strokes from an iron mill
(A) 4, 3, 1, 2(B) 3, 2, 1, 4(C) 3, 1, 2, 4(D) 1, 3, 2, 4 - 1 markArrange the following events in the order in which they occur on Christmas Eve and the day after.
(1) Edla learns at church that a crofter was robbed
(2) The peddler is given the suit as a Christmas present
(3) Edla insists the peddler stay despite her father’s objection
(4) The valet reports the peddler has left, taking nothing
(A) 2, 3, 1, 4(B) 3, 2, 1, 4(C) 1, 3, 2, 4(D) 3, 1, 2, 4
6 Fill in the Blanks
Fill in the Blanks
- 1 markThe peddler made his rattraps from material he got by ______ in the stores or at the big farms.
(A) stealing(B) buying(C) borrowing(D) begging - 1 markThe ironmaster’s daughter introduced herself by saying, ‘My name is ______.’
(A) Edla Stahle(B) Anna Stjernstrom(C) Edla Willmansson(D) Elizabeth Willmansson
7 Odd One Out
Odd One Out
- 1 markWhich of the following is the odd one out?
(A) Ironmaster(B) Ragamuffin(C) Vagabond(D) Peddler
8 Passage-Based Questions
Passage-Based Questions
Passage
He had naturally been thinking of his rattraps when suddenly he was struck by the idea that the whole world about him — the whole world with its lands and seas, its cities and villages — was nothing but a big rattrap. It had never existed for any other purpose than to set baits for people. It offered riches and joys, shelter and food, heat and clothing, exactly as the rattrap offered cheese and pork, and as soon as anyone let himself be tempted to touch the bait, it closed in on him, and then everything came to an end.
- 1 markAccording to the passage, what does the rattrap metaphor offer people, and what happens once someone is tempted?
(A) It offers nothing at all(B) It offers only shelter, and the person is protected(C) It offers riches, joys, shelter, food, heat and clothing, and once tempted the trap closes in on the person(D) It offers only money, and the person becomes rich
Passage
“I am thinking of this stranger here,” said the young girl. “He walks and walks the whole year long, and there is probably not a single place in the whole country where he is welcome and can feel at home. Wherever he turns he is chased away. Always he is afraid of being arrested and cross-examined. I should like to have him enjoy a day of peace with us here — just one in the whole year.”
- 1 markAccording to the passage, why does Edla want the stranger to stay?
(A) Because she wants him to enjoy one day of peace, since he is probably welcome nowhere in the country(B) Because her father ordered her to(C) Because he has paid for his stay(D) Because he is actually a captain
9 True / False
True / False
- 1 markRead the following statements about the story and choose how many of them are TRUE.
(1) The peddler is given a real name by the narrator at the start of the story.
(2) The crofter shows the peddler his savings out of trust.
(3) The ironmaster’s daughter is named Edla Willmansson.
(4) The peddler steals silver spoons from the manor house.
(A) One(B) Two(C) Three(D) Four
Answer Key and Explanations
Direct Questions
- (C) The peddler travels around selling small rattraps of wire that he makes himself from material he gets by begging.
- (C) The story says the business was not especially profitable, so he had to resort to both begging and petty thievery to keep body and soul together.
- (A) The story says it was his cow which supported him, since she gave milk for the creamery every day.
- (D) He recalls his thoughts about the world as a rattrap and realises his own turn has come: he had let himself be fooled by a bait and had been caught.
- (D) Seeing him clean, shaved and dressed in daylight, the ironmaster realises it is impossible to mistake him for an old acquaintance.
Assertion-Reason
- (B) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A: the ‘bait’ remark is written in the letter after the theft, so it cannot have caused it. The story’s opening gives his need instead: he had to resort to ‘begging and petty thievery to keep body and soul together.’
- (C) A is true. R is false: his real name is never given anywhere in the story. The story never says where the name came from; the household calls him ‘Captain von Stahle’ (the ironmaster first uses it at the forge) and he signs the letter with it.
Match the Following
- (D) The peddler sells rattraps (iv), Edla is the ironmaster’s daughter (iii), the ironmaster owns Ramsjö Ironworks (i), and Stjernstrom is the master blacksmith (ii).
- (B) Crofter = a person who rents or owns a small farm (iv); ironmaster = owner/manager of an ironworks (iii); mjolis = a card game (i); peddler = one who sells goods while travelling (ii).
Statement-Based Questions
- (B) Statement I is true. Statement II is false: the ironmaster mistakes him for an old regimental comrade, Nils Olof, rather than recognising him as a stranger.
- (D) Both statements are true: he leaves the thirty kronor in a small rattrap for Edla, with a signed letter asking her to “give back the money to the old man on the roadside”.
- (C) Statement I is true. Statement II is false: the peddler’s real name is never given anywhere in the story; the ironmaster calls him ‘Captain von Stahle’ at the forge, and he signs his letter with that name.
Arrange in the Correct Order
- (C) He first asks for shelter (3), then steals the money (1), then gets lost (2), and finally hears the hammer strokes (4).
- (B) Edla insists he stay (3), that night, as he says good night, he is told the suit is a Christmas present (2), she later learns of the robbery at church (1), and the valet then reports he took nothing (4).
Fill in the Blanks
- (D) The story states he made the rattraps ‘from the material he got by begging in the stores or at the big farms.’
- (C) She says directly: ‘My name is Edla Willmansson.’
Odd One Out
- (A) Peddler, vagabond and ragamuffin are all labels used for the same poor, wandering man in the story. Ironmaster is a separate character altogether.
Passage-Based Questions
- (C) The passage says the world-as-rattrap offers riches, joys, shelter, food, heat and clothing exactly as a rattrap offers cheese and pork, and closes in the moment someone is tempted.
- (A) She says she would like him to enjoy a day of peace with them, just one in the whole year, since there is probably not a single place where he is welcome and he is chased away wherever he turns.
True / False
- (B) Statements 2 and 3 are true. Statement 1 is false (he is never named). Statement 4 is false (the valet confirms he took nothing from the manor).
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