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🎎 Matryoshka Dolls — The Russian Nested Figures

(1)

A matryoshka doll refers to a set of dolls of decreasing size placed one inside the other.
The word is a diminutive form of the Russian female first name "Matryoshka", from "Matryona".
The first doll set in Russia was carved in 1890 by Vasily Zvyozdochkin from a design by Sergey Malyutin, who was a folk crafts painter.
Traditionally, the outer layer is a woman dressed in a sarafan, a long traditional Russian dress.

(2)

A set of matryoshkas consists of a wooden figure which separates, top from bottom, to reveal a smaller figure of the same sort inside — which, in turn, has another figure inside it, and so on.
The number of nested figures is traditionally not less than five, but can be much more, up to several dozen with sufficiently fine craftsmanship.
Modern dolls often have an odd number of figures, but this is not an absolute rule; the original set, for instance, had an even number.
The form is approximately cylindrical, with a rounded head, tapering toward the bottom.

(3)

It is believed that Zvyozdochkin and Malyutin were inspired by a doll from Honshu, the main island of Japan.
Sources differ in their descriptions — some describe a round, hollow doll, while others describe a nesting doll portraying a bald old Buddhist monk.

(4)

Zvyozdochkin’s creations were first presented at the Exposition Universelle in 1900 in Paris, where the toy earned a bronze medal.
Soon after, matryoshka dolls were being made in several places in Russia and shipped worldwide — to Europe, Asia, and America.

(5)

Matryoshka dolls are often designed to follow a particular theme.
During Perestroika, the leaders of the Soviet Union became a common theme.
In one such example, the largest, outside figure was Mikhail Gorbachev, followed by Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov, and Konstantin Chernenko (who almost never appear due to their short terms), Nikita Khrushchev, Joseph Stalin, and finally the smallest, Vladimir Lenin.

📝 Questions

1. The best title for this passage is...
A. Arts and Crafts
B. Children's Toys
C. Modern Handicrafts
✅ D. Russian Wood Figurines

2. The purpose of Paragraph (1) is to...
A. describe traditional Russian clothes.
✅ B. describe the origin and appearance of the dolls in Russia.
C. provide a profile of Zvyozdochkin and Malyutin.
D. provide an explanation of the Russian name Matryona.

3. The word carved in Paragraph (1) is closest in meaning to...
A. sourced
B. planned
✅ C. shaped
D. copied

4. According to Part (2), what is required for a set to have a large number of nesting dolls?
A. wooden figures
✅ B. expert workmen
C. cylindrical form
D. no protruding features

5. The word this in Paragraph (2) refers to...
✅ A. modern dolls
B. several dozen
C. absolute rule
D. odd numbers

6. According to Paragraph (3), the idea of nesting dolls most likely started in...
A. Paris
✅ B. Japan
C. Russia
D. America

7. According to Paragraph (5), some rulers are excluded from being made into dolls because they...
A. were the smallest
B. were NOT Soviet leaders
✅ C. were NOT in power for long
D. are NOT part of the common theme