At one point in “The Pardoner’s Tale,” the pub owner says, “This very year he killed, in a large village / A mile away, man, woman, serf at tillage.” Reread these lines that precede the publican’s remark, and then decide what most likely happened in the village.

“There came a privy thief, they call him Death, Who kills us all round here, and in a breath He speared him through the heart, he never stirred. And then Death went his way without a word. He’s killed a thousand in the present plague, And, sir, it doesn’t do to be too vague. . . .”

Question 9 options:

Thieves robbed the village and killed the inhabitants.


A strong wind blew through the village, killing everyone there.


Everyone in the village died with a spear in his or her heart.


Plague claimed the lives of the people in the village.