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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How can English be particularly complex for non-native English speakers?
(a) Many words can be used in different ways
(b) The vowel sounds are fixed
(c) The alphabet is long
(d) There are many grammar rules

2. Chapter 7 addresses the _________________ examples of ways English is spoken throughout the world.
(a) Inaccurate
(b) Transitional
(c) Humorous
(d) Historic

3. In whose work can inconsistent spelling be found due to the event of #67?
(a) Dante
(b) Shakespeare
(c) Faulkner
(d) Chaucer

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

5. Why could the Neanderthals not keep up with the Cro-Magnons?
(a) They did not have fire
(b) They couldn't communicate with the same complexity
(c) They could not run as fast
(d) Their brains were not as big

6. In what American city do people speak with slurred words that make them almost impossible to understand?
(a) Phoenix, Arizona
(b) Ann Arbor, Maryland
(c) Cincinnati, Ohio
(d) Baltimore, Maryland

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

8. The author states that there are characteristics in the English language that ______________________________.
(a) are intuitive
(b) are fundamental
(c) are lacking in other languages
(d) are easy to learn

9. English in the United Kingdom is more _____________ than it is in the United States.
(a) varied
(b) proper
(c) stilted
(d) regulated

10. Who is the official authority over the English language?
(a) The Queen of England
(b) The Prime Minister of England
(c) Daniel Webster
(d) No one

11. The author decides it is ______________ to divide the U.S. into distinct accents.
(a) futile
(b) easy
(c) frustrating
(d) fun

12. What system allows English speakers to communicate efficiently in writing?
(a) Syllabic
(b) Phonetic
(c) Tonal
(d) Ebonic

13. According to the author, varieties of English are heavily influenced by what?
(a) ancestral reasons
(b) geographic reasons
(c) financial reasons
(d) social reasons

14. What is DARE?
(a) Diary of Any Regional Experts
(b) Dictionary of All Regional English
(c) Dictionary of American Regional English
(d) Dictionary of American Real Estate

15. What does the English language's large vocabulary mean to users?
(a) More precise expression
(b) More spelling words
(c) More letters of the alphabet
(d) More vowels

Short Answer Questions

1. What language is most commonly chosen by international businesses?

2. There is debate about the simplicity of English spelling and _________________________.

3. The differences between languages bring up questions about what?

4. What does Chomsky think are innate in children?

5. For years, concern for spelling has been neglected over imposing what?

(see the answer keys)

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