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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What happens to the blade of the tremendous sword found in the lair?
(a) Nothing.
(b) It shatters.
(c) It cracks.
(d) It melts.

2. What does Beowulf do when he sees Grendel's body in the lair?
(a) Weeps.
(b) Burns the body.
(c) Cuts off Grendel's head.
(d) Leaves the body untouched.

3. When Grendel's blood turns the lake red, what do Hrothgar and his men assume?
(a) All of the serpents have died.
(b) Beowulf has defeated the monster.
(c) The lake has grown fiery hot.
(d) Beowulf is dead.

4. Where does Beowulf see a "tremendous sword" in the lair of Grendel's mother?
(a) At her side.
(b) On a table.
(c) On the wall.
(d) In the armory.

5. After Beowulf's sword fails to kill Grendel's mother, what does he use to try to fight her?
(a) A rope.
(b) An axe.
(c) His bare hands.
(d) Rocks.

6. When Beowulf blows his horn, what rises up out of the Grendel lake?
(a) Fish.
(b) Grendel's mother.
(c) Grendel.
(d) Sea devils.

7. What is the Grendel lake lined with?
(a) Fierce dragons.
(b) Trees.
(c) Tall grasses.
(d) Mountains.

8. At the beginning of Chapter 2, who is brooding with grief and greedy for revenge?
(a) Grendel's mother.
(b) Hrothgar.
(c) Beowulf.
(d) Unferth.

9. When Beowulf enters Heorot, what two things does he present to Hrothgar?
(a) Grendel's head and the remains of the giant sword.
(b) A knife and a goblet.
(c) Grendel's mother's head and her sword.
(d) Jewels and gold.

10. What is Hrunting?
(a) A shield.
(b) Beowulf's sword.
(c) Hrothgar's hall.
(d) Grendel's mother's hall.

11. What kind of boat to Beowulf and his men sail away from Denmark in?
(a) A swan boat.
(b) A canoe with many oars.
(c) A pirate ship.
(d) A tern boat.

12. When Beowulf reaches the bank of the lake, what does he do?
(a) Places Grendel's mother's head on a spear.
(b) Falls to the ground in exhaustion.
(c) Places Grendel's head on a spear.
(d) Kisses the ground.

13. How does Beowulf kill Grendel's mother?
(a) He cuts off her head.
(b) He throws her to the sea serpents.
(c) He strangles her.
(d) He stabs her through the heart.

14. What does Grendel's mother use to try to kill Beowulf?
(a) An axe.
(b) A knife.
(c) Her hands.
(d) Beowulf's sword.

15. Before battling Grendel's mother, what does Beowulf ask the King to do if he should die?
(a) Build him a monument.
(b) Send his men back to their homeland.
(c) Look after his men.
(d) Promise to tell stories of his heroism.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Hrothgar describe the Grendel lake?

2. Where is Beowulf when Grendel's mother arrives at Heorot?

3. Who leads Beowulf to the Grendel lake?

4. How many men does it take to carry Grendel's head?

5. Inside Grendel's mother's lair, what upholds the weight of the water?

(see the answer keys)

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