View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Based on the passage narrated by Eric the Red, which phrase do you think best describes Eric's character?
(a) Evil and malicious.
(b) Rigid and formal.
(c) Deeply religious.
(d) Good-natured and affectionate.

2. Which statement shows that Gregory believes that most people revere history without understanding it?
(a) "There must be imagination at work to discern the fabulae of history."
(b) "History, like poetry, is an ancient trap laid for the credulous and narrow-minded."
(c) "In the reading and interpretation of history everything falls dead unless that reality is perceived."
(d) "The serious historian of the ancient world is careful never to forget his Homer."

3. Why does "she" say that De Soto's men are beginning to hate him?
(a) Because he has subjected them to many hardships and they have found no gold.
(b) Because they are afraid that they will all be killed in battle.
(c) Because they have become infected with diseases and are experiencing epidemics.
(d) Because they are worried that they will never make it back to Spain.

4. How often does Montezuma change his clothes?
(a) Four times a month.
(b) Four times a year.
(c) Four times a week.
(d) Four times a day.

5. What would Gregory be most likely to describe history as?
(a) A story written only by the winners.
(b) A compendium of dates, data, and quotations.
(c) A tapestry of culture and stories.
(d) A science in its own right.

6. What does Queen Elizabeth force Raleigh to do when she calls him back from the fleet's attack on Spain?
(a) Join the crew of a ship heading to the Americas.
(b) Travel to Africa.
(c) Become a diplomat.
(d) Marry one of her maids.

7. Where does Eric the Red go to start over?
(a) Norway.
(b) America.
(c) Iceland.
(d) Greenland.

8. Why is De Soto uncertain whether he wants to meet Francisco Maldonado?
(a) He thinks he might be forced to offer Maldonado some help.
(b) He does not get along with Maldonado.
(c) He thinks that Maldonado might get credit for De Soto's accomplishments.
(d) He fears that Maldonado would antagonize the Indians.

9. Which chapter does Gregory say is in some ways the product of the era in which it was written?
(a) The chapter on Cotton Mather.
(b) The chapter on Christopher Columbus.
(c) The chapter on John Paul Jones.
(d) The chapter on Daniel Boone.

10. Why are the Puritans important, according to the narrator?
(a) They find a way to survive in an inclement environment.
(b) They begin to form the national character.
(c) They are among the earliest European settlers.
(d) They bring Christianity to the New World.

11. What does Gregory say about the way in which the reputation of In the American Grain grew?
(a) It became more popular as it was falling out of print.
(b) It became more popular after Williams died.
(c) It became more popular when it was published in a magazine.
(d) It became more popular when it was marketed more aggressively.

12. What adjective does Williams use to describe Champlain?
(a) Loving.
(b) Primitive.
(c) Opportunist.
(d) Delightful.

13. Who is Freydis?
(a) Eric the Red's wife.
(b) Eric the Red's sister.
(c) Eric the Red's daughter.
(d) Eric the Red's lover.

14. At the beginning of the Introduction, Horace Gregory quotes William Carlos Williams as saying "History, history! We fools, what do we know or care?" What does Gregory think Williams means by this?
(a) History matters only to fools.
(b) Most Americans know little of history.
(c) It is dangerous to get involved in history.
(d) History is full of lies.

15. Which of the following quotations reveals Williams' opinion of Cortez?
(a) "...Nothing at the present moment seemed to disturb his aristocratic reserve."
(b) "Spain cannot be blamed for the crassness of the discoverers."
(c) "With the force bred of a determination to face at any cost a situation fast going beyond his control..."
(d) "Courageous almost beyond precedent, tactful, resourceful in misfortune..."

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Columbus do when he thinks the ship might capsize?

2. Does Columbus profit from his trips to the New World?

3. What kind of woman is Freydis?

4. What title does the narrator give Raleigh?

5. Why isn't the French Conquest as severe as the Spanish one?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 810 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample