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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What historical occurrence is explored in Chapter 6?
(a) The Johnstown Flood
(b) The Kennedy Assassination
(c) The Great Depression
(d) The Great Vowel Shift

2. There is debate about the simplicity of English spelling and _________________________.
(a) tense
(b) vowel sounds
(c) meaning
(d) pronunciation

3. What can make learning English unnecessarily difficult?
(a) Grammar rules
(b) Tense switching
(c) Vowels
(d) The alphabet

4. What is onomatopoeia?
(a) A new insect genus
(b) A culinary trend
(c) The predecessor of Cro-Magnon man
(d) A word which represents the sound of something

5. The pronunciations of many words in America reflect what speakers think British speakers say and _______________________.
(a) ignores them
(b) tries to do the opposite
(c) rejects them outright
(d) attempts to imitate them

6. What is the study of the English language considered to be?
(a) A large industry in the world
(b) A requirment in all schools
(c) A waste of time
(d) A necessary evil

7. What happens when a particular phonology is applied to adopted words?
(a) They become more lyrical
(b) They become easier to understand
(c) They become almost unrecognizable in their original language
(d) They become more rhythmic

8. How many new words did Shakespeare invent?
(a) Over two hundred
(b) Over two thousand
(c) Over one thousand
(d) Over five hundred

9. In what country does the printing revolution take place?
(a) Ireland
(b) England
(c) Wales
(d) France

10. What about the English language gives users greater range of expression?
(a) Active and passive voices
(b) More vowel sounds
(c) Past and future tenses
(d) More letters of the alphabet

11. What language and culture does the answer to #44 bring to England?
(a) French
(b) Spanish
(c) Irish
(d) Danish

12. What is an important benefit of the Asian pictograph languages?
(a) Cultural integrity
(b) Connection to modern and ancient texts
(c) Instant recognition
(d) Elegant styling

13. Which group surprisingly makes grammar and word mistakes?
(a) Professors
(b) Scholars
(c) Famous authors
(d) Clergymen

14. The Celts are strongly influenced by which culture?
(a) Norwegian
(b) French
(c) Germanic
(d) Roman

15. Languages around the world contain common ______________________.
(a) vowels
(b) foundations
(c) consonants
(d) verb tenses

Short Answer Questions

1. The English language has _____________________________.

2. According to the author, some words are formed out of __________________.

3. What is usually important to users of other languages that the English language expresses with one general category word?

4. Language issues tend to be __________________.

5. Because of the event of #67, the works of which two authors are especially difficult to understand?

(see the answer keys)

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