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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. When was Walter Benjamin Born?
(a) 1892 A.D.
(b) 1962 A.D.
(c) 1705 A.D.
(d) 1472 A.D.

2. Who wrote "The Execution of Tropmann?"
(a) William Hazlitt.
(b) Carlos Fuentes.
(c) Ivan Turgenev.
(d) Hubert Butler.

3. George Orwell is not the real name of the author, and yet it is used in place of the author's real name for published works. What is "George Orwell" an example of?
(a) A fabled name.
(b) A trick name.
(c) A pen name.
(d) A penciled-in name.

4. Which of the following is NOT a well-known story written by Robert Louis Stevenson?
(a) The Tell-Tale Heart.
(b) Kidnapped.
(c) The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
(d) Treasure Island.

5. What inspired Ivan Turgenev's view of servants?
(a) Turgenev's father trafficked in slaves.
(b) His father was killed by a servant.
(c) He was raised by a servant.
(d) He was raised watching his mother abuse all of those around her.

6. What did Mencken call his collection of writings?
(a) "Prejudices."
(b) "The Ruin of an Otherwise Perfect Day."
(c) "Sweet Treats."
(d) "Brain Scribblings."

7. What title did Thurber give to his humorous autobiographical essay?
(a) Autobiography of a Biographist.
(b) James Thurber, I Hardly Knew You.
(c) The Secret Life of James Thurber.
(d) James Thurber: Confidential.

8. Who wrote "How to Start to Write?"
(a) Carlos Fuentes.
(b) Walter Benjamin.
(c) Ivan Turgenev.
(d) F. Scott Fitzgerald.

9. Who wrote "An Apology for Idlers?"
(a) Maria Edgeworth.
(b) Plutarch.
(c) Robert Louis Stevenson.
(d) George Orwell.

10. Who wrote "This Tool Is Life?"
(a) Virginia Woolf.
(b) Junichiro Tanizaki.
(c) Lu Hsun.
(d) Natalia Ginzburg.

11. Robert Louis Stevenson is today best known for what type of writings?
(a) Diary entries.
(b) Novels.
(c) Poems.
(d) Essays.

12. Who wrote "Street Haunting?"
(a) Michel de Montaigne.
(b) Phillip Lopate.
(c) Robert Louis Stevenson.
(d) Virginia Woolf.

13. What is the author's opinion of public executions in "The Execution of Tropmann?"
(a) Public executions are thrilling.
(b) Public executions are tools of the class system.
(c) Public executions are necessary for law and order.
(d) Public executions should be ended.

14. When was Lu Hsun born?
(a) 1775 A.D.
(b) 340 B.C.
(c) 1312 A.D.
(d) 1881 A.D.

15. What is a frequent subject of Lu Hsun's work?
(a) The beauty of the natural world.
(b) Ships and sailing.
(c) The class system.
(d) Poverty and the struggle that results from it.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who wrote "Hashis in Marseilles"?

2. Who wrote "The Crack-Up"?

3. How did Virginia Woolf die?

4. Who wrote "The Death of the Moth?"

5. Who wrote "Walking"?

(see the answer keys)

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