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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. To Shaw, what is the main advantage of Henry Sweet's "Current Shorthand"?
(a) It can be used on postcards, where there is limited space to write.
(b) It can express every sound in the language perfectly.
(c) Everyone is familiar with it, as it is widely taught in secretarial schools.
(d) It can be used as a kind of secret code or cryptogram.

2. What type of person does Shaw indicate is the hero of Pygmalion?
(a) A low-class person who cannot speak the language properly.
(b) A professor of English literatures specializing in Shakespeare and Milton.
(c) An energetic enthusiast who supports language reform.
(d) A multilinguist and expert in Latinate languages.

3. Where is Act 1 of the play set?
(a) At a theater.
(b) In a park.
(c) At a train station.
(d) In front of a church.

4. What is NOT one of Henry Higgins's faults?
(a) He sometimes has tantrums when things go wrong.
(b) He is willing to be malicious and cruel in order to get ahead.
(c) He can be a bully.
(d) He is careless about other people's feelings.

5. What makes Liza happy at the end of the evening?
(a) Higgins gives her a pocketful of change.
(b) Higgins promises to give her lessons.
(c) Freddy is falling in love with her.
(d) She sold all her flowers.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is Freddy looking for at the beginning of Act 1?

2. When does Shaw first become interested in the subject of phonetics?

3. Which of the following describes Liza's home?

4. How does the Flower Girl know Freddy's name?

5. What insulting term does Higgins use to describe Liza in Act 2?

Short Essay Questions

1. What bet does Pickering make with Higgins? Why does Higgins accept?

2. Describe the Flower Girl.

3. What makes some English people despise others? What can we infer would solve this problem?

4. Describe Higgins.

5. Who are some of the most important people in England, according to Shaw? Why do you think this is so, again, according to Shaw?

6. Why does the Flower Girl become upset at the note-taker? What is she most likely afraid of?

7. Why does the English language need to be reformed, according to Shaw?

8. What would, in Shaw's opinion, be a prodigious advancement in the English language? Do you agree or disagree? Explain.

9. What are three methods of phonetic shorthand that Shaw mentions in Pygmalion, and what are they used for?

10. What does Higgins boast that he can do for the Flower Girl?

(see the answer keys)

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