The Alchemist Question Sets 1-4

How does the boy spend his time when the merchant told him that the shepherd could not shear his sheep until the afternoon?

• He reads his new book

• He talks with the merchant's daughter

• He spends time sleeping

What had the boy's family hoped he would become as an adult?

• They wanted him to become a priest

• They wanted him to become a healer

• They wanted him to become a merchant

Why does the shepherd decide to see the Gypsy woman?

• He wants her to make a love potion to give to the merchant's daughter

• He wants her to interpret a recurring dream

• He wants her to tell his fortune about the merchant's daughter

What is the "principle of favorability" that the old man speaks of?

• It is also known as "the will of God."

• It is also known as "beginner's luck."

• It is also known as "the survival of the fittest."

What are Urim and Thummim?

• They are two stones used in divination

• They are the "lead sheep" in the boys flock

• They are two men who bought the boy's sheep

What does the boy do to earn food to eat in Tangier?

• He cleans glassware

• He sells his sheep in order to buy food

• He cleans stalls for the camel herder

After the owner of the crystal shop tells the boy how expensive it is to get to Egypt, what does the boy say he wants the money for?

• He wants to buy a camel to take him to Egypt

• He wants to buy some sheep

• He wants to return home to his family

Why does the merchant claim to feel worse than he did before the boy arrived to work for him?

• The boy has shown him how he could accomplish things, but he hates change.

• The boy has helped improve business, but the merchant doesn't want the extra work.

• The boy is a better seller than the crystal merchant.

Who befriends the boy on the journey?

• He is befriended by the boy who had originally robbed him.

• He is befriended by an Englishman in search of an alchemist in the desert.

• He is befriended by the ship's captain.

What news does the caravan leader learn that causes the members to become more cautious while traveling, especially at night?

• A group of prisoners escaped from an Egyptian prison and are in the desert

• There have been rumors of renegade thieves skulking in the desert

• The desert tribes are at war