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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. What surprises Mrs. Pearce?
(a) Liza has only one change of clothing to her name.
(b) Liza has no underwear.
(c) Liza's clothing is torn and dirty.
(d) Liza never wears pajamas; she sleeps in her underwear.

2. Based on what you read in the Preface, with which of the following statements do you think Shaw would agree?
(a) Great art cannot please everyone; there will always be some wiseacres who cannot appreciate it.
(b) All great art must be didactic; that is, it should teach people something.
(c) Great art should not seek to teach lessons, but to entertain.
(d) Truly great art should not seek to be commercially successful.

3. Which is true of Pygmalion at the time Shaw wrote his Preface?
(a) It is extremely successful on stage and screen all over North America and Europe.
(b) It is extremely successful in Europe, and he hopes to make it so in America.
(c) It is extremely successful on stage, and he hopes to make a movie of it.
(d) It is extremely successful in America, but not in Europe.

4. What happened to Liza's parents?
(a) Her father is gone and her stepfather beats her.
(b) She has no parents; they are dead.
(c) She has no mother, and her father and stepmother kicked her out.
(d) They are too poor to take care of her, so she lives on her own.

5. Who is Henry Sweet?
(a) The editor of a monthly review.
(b) A sweet-tempered professor of language and literature.
(c) A high official who popularized the subject of phonetics.
(d) A phonetics expert whom Shaw admired.

Short Answer Questions

1. What type of person does Shaw indicate is the hero of Pygmalion?

2. What does the taxicab driver realize about Liza that humiliates her?

3. Where is Act 1 of the play set?

4. Which of the following does Shaw identify as a problem among his fellow English?

5. What does Higgins say about women?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is the note-taker, and what is he actually doing?

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

3. Describe Higgins.

4. What does the Flower Girl do at the end of Act 1 that shows she has a sense of pride and dignity about her?

5. Who are Alexander Melville Bell, Alexander J. Ellis, Tito Pagliardini, and Henry Sweet, and why are they heroes to Shaw?

6. Who is the Gentleman in the first act, and what do he and the note-taker have in common?

7. What should all great art be, according to Shaw? Do you agree? What does Shaw hope his play will teach?

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

9. Describe the Flower Girl.

10. Why does Liza become upset when Mrs. Pearce takes her up for a bath? What does this incident show about Liza?

(see the answer keys)

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