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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which name prefix did the Scots originate?
(a) Boyd.
(b) Mc.
(c) Ross.
(d) An.

2. Who welcomed St. Augustine in England?
(a) King Skaronn.
(b) King Charles.
(c) King Ferdinand.
(d) King Aethelbert.

3. Who is the author of the novel Oscar and Lucinda?
(a) Peter Carey.
(b) Mark Twain.
(c) Danielle Steele.
(d) Jonathan Swift.

4. RP was spoken by how much of the British population at the origination of BBC?
(a) 10%.
(b) 1%.
(c) 3%.
(d) 20%.

5. Robert McCrum writes in the Introduction, "Language, we know, is in ceaseless ____."
(a) Motion.
(b) Flux.
(c) Love.
(d) Flow.

6. Who remain the most direct descendants of the Celts?
(a) The Irish.
(b) The Norwiegens.
(c) The Welsh.
(d) The Scottish.

7. What great-grandfather of rap does Robert McCrum write is largely forgotten?
(a) Master P.
(b) Mister Spoons.
(c) Anderson Clydeson.
(d) Dr. Dre.

8. What Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian was a major figure in the development of Western Christianity?
(a) St. Mark.
(b) St. Augustine.
(c) St. Patrick.
(d) St. Peter.

9. The number of books in England did what after the invention of the printing press?
(a) Halved.
(b) Doubled.
(c) Tripled.
(d) Quadrupled.

10. What is the first of the five points of Calvinism?
(a) Release of sin.
(b) Total depravity.
(c) Forgiveness.
(d) Love of God.

11. Where was the Archduke Ferdinand assassinated?
(a) New York.
(b) Sarajevo.
(c) Paris.
(d) London.

12. What threatened Britain's Celtic chiefs after the withdrawal of the Romans?
(a) Greek tribes.
(b) Christian warriors.
(c) Germanic tribes.
(d) Islamic tribes.

13. Who wrote The American Language?
(a) Daniel Webster.
(b) Dr. Samuel Johnson.
(c) H.L. Mencken.
(d) William Cran.

14. What is the traditional site of disembarkation of William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims?
(a) Philadelphia.
(b) Plymouth Rock.
(c) Ellis Island.
(d) Nina Maria.

15. Julius Caesar and his armies conquered Britain when?
(a) 100 B.C.
(b) 44 B.C.
(c) 55 B.C.
(d) 34 B.C.

Short Answer Questions

1. When did Queen Elizabeth die?

2. By what year were nearly half of the English literate, according to Chapter 3, A Muse of Fire?

3. How many people spoke English in Shakespeare's time?

4. When was Jonathan Swift born?

5. Who is quoted from his Preface to A Dictionary of the English Language in the Introduction?

(see the answer keys)

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