Question

These questions come from the story, "The Two Brothers," in commonlit:

PART A: Which of the following statements best summarizes a theme of this story?
A. The only way to be forgiven for your sins is to leave your loved ones behind.
B. People can do more good with simple, kind actions than they can with money.
C. It is best to live a structured life in order to avoid the temptations of the world.
D. People should be forgiven for their sins once they recognize their mistakes.

2. PART B: Which TWO phrases from the story best support the answer to Part A?
A. "Thus did the brothers live for many years, and every week the Angel of the Lord came down to them and blessed them." (Paragraph 1)
B. "…and not keeping for himself a single coin of all this money, he went back to his
dwelling in the selfsame old garment in which he had come to town." (Paragraph 4)
C. "And all three houses began to be filled with people, and the people began to praise Athanasius for all that he had done." (Paragraph 4)
D. "Thou art not worthy to dwell with thy brother. That one leap aside of thy brother's was worth more than all that thou hast done with thy gold." (Paragraph 9)
E. "…and he understood that not by gold, but by good works only, could he render service
to God and his fellow-man." (Paragraph 14)
F. "And the brethren dwelt together as before." (Paragraph 15)

3. How does the repetition of the following phrase in Paragraph 1 help develop the plot of the story:
"the Angel of the Lord came down to them and blessed them?"
A. It illustrates the brothers' strong beliefs in God, even though Athanasius had been
behaving greedily.
B. It demonstrates that the Angel led a simple, repetitive life, which sets an example for how Athanasius should live.
C. It proves that all that is necessary to get special attention from God is to live humbly and pray.
D. It illustrates that the Angel blessed the brothers for their kind actions, in contrast to the later events of the story.

4. Which statement best explains how Athanasius responds to the Angel's scolding?
A. He believes that he has done good deeds with the money and does not deserve to be scolded.
B. At first he is surprised and defensive, but later he recognizes his mistakes.
C. He had predicted the confrontation, so he quickly accepts the Angel's scolding.
D. He realizes that he has missed his brother and decides to live with him once more.

Answer 1

Answer: 1. D. People should be forgiven for their sins once they recognize their mistakes.

2. D and E. "Thou art not worthy to dwell with thy brother. That one leap aside of thy brother's was worth more than all that thou hast done with thy gold." (Paragraph 9) and "…and he understood that not by gold, but by good works only, could he render service to God and his fellow-man." (Paragraph 14)

3. D. It illustrates that the Angel blessed the brothers for their kind actions, in contrast to the later events of the story.

4. B. At first he is surprised and defensive, but later he recognizes his mistakes.

Step-by-step explanation: