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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. Before attempting personal essays, what kind of writer was Seymour Krim?
(a) Copywriter.
(b) Playwright.
(c) Critic.
(d) Newspaper reporter.

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

4. Who wrote "My Confession?"
(a) James Baldwin.
(b) Charles Lamb.
(c) F. Scott Fitzgerald.
(d) Mary McCarthy.

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

6. What did George Orwell renounce, along with his former life?
(a) The English legal system.
(b) Poetry.
(c) The class system.
(d) The Catholic church.

7. James Thurber is said to have inspired what, in American essay prose?
(a) Nonsense.
(b) Pregnant pauses.
(c) Seriousness.
(d) Discussion of race issues.

8. What nationality is Walter Benjamin?
(a) English.
(b) Belgian.
(c) Italian.
(d) German.

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

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

11. What nickname is given to Max Beerbohm?
(a) The Late Great Captain Max.
(b) Max Beerfest.
(c) The Incomparable Max.
(d) Maximum Writer.

12. What does the author think of the lake he revisits in "Once More to the Lake?"
(a) The lake has suffered from the effects of technology and modernization.
(b) The lake is just the same as the author remembered it.
(c) No actual lake is mentioned in the essay.
(d) The lake has improved because of technology.

13. How did Virginia Woolf die?
(a) She drowned herself.
(b) Of old age.
(c) She was shot by a jealous lover.
(d) She was run over by an automobile.

14. What is Jose Luis Borges' attitude in "Blindness?"
(a) Shocked.
(b) Despairing.
(c) Outraged.
(d) Appreciative.

15. What occupation did Lu Hsun abandon to become a writer?
(a) Doctor.
(b) Merchant.
(c) Farmer.
(d) Court official.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who wrote "Once a Tramp, Always..."?

2. Who wrote "For My Brothers and Sisters in the Failure Business?"

3. What inspired Ivan Turgenev's view of servants?

4. Under what circumstances did Walter Benjamin die?

5. Who wrote "The Ring of Time?"

(see the answer keys)

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