Question

Read the excerpt from "The Three Questions" by Leo Tolstoy.

Answer 1

Paragraph A sets up the mood for the story, letting you know the king is both unsatisfied and willing to go further to obtain this elusive information he seeks. This sets up a text that will indeed give you some information, most likely in the form of a lesson.

After this the conclusion, paragraphs E and F are simple but meaningful in the way how they contrast with what we've been led to believe this far, the hermit barely acknoledges a king and manages to make him offer to do manual labor for him without as much as uttering a word. The way this clashes with what one believes of a king indicates that there's a lesson there, in what the hermit does to accomplish this, if only ones analizes the scene.

Answer 2

The answers are A & D

“All the answers being different, the King agreed with none of them, and gave the reward to none. But still wishing to find the right answers to his questions, he decided to consult a hermit, widely renowned for his wisdom.”

“The King went up to him and said: ‘I have come to you, wise hermit, to ask you to answer three questions: How can I learn to do the right thing at the right time? Who are the people I most need, and to whom should I, therefore, pay more attention than to the rest? And, what affairs are the most important, and need my first attention?’”