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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 6.1 | Chapter 6.2.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which of the following was not used as a substitute for the once indecent term, for highly refined ears, "bull"?
(a) Standing-cow.
(b) Gentleman-cow.
(c) Male-cow.
(d) Cow-creature.

2. What class of Americans is most influenced by Briticisms, according to Mencken in Chapter 5.2?
(a) The middle-class.
(b) The fashionable.
(c) The vulgar.
(d) The poor.

3. What use of storage was added to the American meaning of the word "barn?"
(a) Crops.
(b) Chickens.
(c) Cattle.
(d) Horses.

4. What is the English word for a collection of colleges?
(a) A University.
(b) A Cardinal.
(c) A Collegiate.
(d) A Maltin.

5. According to Mencken, the name of what game puzzles etymologists?
(a) Football.
(b) Whist.
(c) Poker.
(d) Badminton.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the principal reason Mencken states that the English language has not greatly diverged since the foundation of the United States of America?

2. What language does Mencken quote Sidney Low as saying is not taught to English youth?

3. According to the tale spread by William Gifford, what language was supposed to be substituted for English during the Revolutionary War?

4. What event does Mencken credit with strengthening the obfuscation of distinction between American and British English?

5. According to the report of Beverley, what did a group of soldiers turn into after eating some Jimson Weed?

(see the answer key)

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