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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is causing the culture of the Elves to suffer?
(a) The psychological effects of their immortality.
(b) The lack of resources.
(c) The limited education.
(d) The abundance of different cultures.

2. What words does Tolkien use to replace "Elves"?
(a) Elfen and Elven.
(b) Elf and Elven.
(c) Elf and Elfen.
(d) Elf, Elfen, and Elven.

3. In what year does Tolkien become disturbed by the length of time to publish The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Silmarillion?
(a) 1951.
(b) 1950.
(c) 1949.
(d) 1948.

4. Which character does Tolkien indicate has gained the most power by wearing the Ring?
(a) Sauron.
(b) Gollum.
(c) Saruman.
(d) The Witch-king of Angmar.

5. How many Rings of Power does the One Ring control?
(a) Seven.
(b) Ten.
(c) Nine.
(d) Eight.

6. Whom does Tolkien originally ask to draw maps for the imaginary world of The Lord of the Rings?
(a) Christopher.
(b) Edith.
(c) A friend.
(d) A professional illustrator.

7. How does Tolkien think children will respond to Farmer Giles of Ham?
(a) They will not understand it.
(b) They might like it.
(c) They will not like it.
(d) He encourages them not to read it.

8. How many other men are traveling with Tolkien during his conversation about accents?
(a) Five.
(b) Three.
(c) Two.
(d) Four.

9. Who does Tolkien say are the only people interested in reading his literary works in Letter #115?
(a) Only his wife and son.
(b) C.S. Lewis and his wife.
(c) C.S. Lewis and his son.
(d) Only C.S. Lewis.

10. With whom does Tolkien work in order to avoid the responsibilities of chairing the English department?
(a) Students.
(b) Colleagues.
(c) The department supervisor.
(d) The dean.

11. What will the alteration mean for the book Tolkien is writing in Letter #128?
(a) It will be designed not to have a sequel.
(b) It will be designed to have a sequel.
(c) It will be meant to be read by children.
(d) It will be meant not to be read by children.

12. In Letter #131, what reason does Tolkien reveal for creating his alternate world of fiction?
(a) To make a world that is completely unbelievable in every way.
(b) To provide an example for how a society should be constructed.
(c) To recreate a world that he had read about as a child.
(d) To fill the English people's need for their own fairy tale.

13. What is the result of a friendship between the Elves and the Dwarves, as Tolkien explains in Letter #131?
(a) A decline of education.
(b) An improvement in the arts.
(c) A decline of the arts.
(d) An improvement in education.

14. What subject is a student's thesis about that Tolkien expects to find boring?
(a) Industrialism.
(b) War.
(c) Civilization.
(d) Fairy Tales.

15. Under what conditions is Tolkien asked to chair an English department in "The Professor"?
(a) Confusing.
(b) Broad.
(c) Contradicting.
(d) Limited.

Short Answer Questions

1. What invention does Tolkien make when writing the poem being discussed with Unwin?

2. Which school is Tolkien attending when the first letter begins?

3. What point does Tolkien make about his book, The Silmarillion, in Letter #131?

4. What two factors contribute to the main part of Letter #66 to Christopher?

5. How does Tolkien feel when he looks at his work in the revision stages?

(see the answer keys)

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