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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In what year did the National Education Association withdraw from the campaign for simplified spelling?
(a) 1907.
(b) 1914.
(c) 1899.
(d) 1921.

2. Which 1914 English dictionary made many important concessions to American spellings?
(a) The Concise Oxford Dictionary.
(b) The Cambridge Fleet Edition.
(c) The New English Dictionary.
(d) The London Pocket Dictionary.

3. What spelling change is made from English to American in words such as "connection"?
(a) Conexion to connection.
(b) Connexion to connection.
(c) Conection to connection.
(d) Connectin to connection.

4. Which phrase did Oliver Wendell Holmes use to describe the state of the person who makes use of slang?
(a) Bumbling idiocy.
(b) Mental atrophy.
(c) Creative genius.
(d) Intellectual alacrity.

5. Which case of the noun in English yet has an inflection at the time of Mencken's writing?
(a) The ablative.
(b) The dative.
(c) The genitive.
(d) The accusative.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which double negative word is primarily found in Shakespeare?

2. What does the movement towards the general vowel neutralization promise to do in the future, according to Mencken?

3. What is frequently omitted in phrases indicated desire or intent, as indicated in Chapter 9.9?

4. Over how many post offices does Mencken state bear the adjective "New"?

5. How many works does Mencken claim to have discovered covering the topic of American slang?

(see the answer keys)

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