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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which of the following languages has not been proposed as an international language?
(a) Seaspeak
(b) Volapuk
(c) Esperanto
(d) Chinese

2. English is a language of constant ___________________.
(a) change
(b) surprise
(c) complexity
(d) beauty

3. The author discusses the process of development of the British _____________ from the Middle Ages to the present.
(a) middle name
(b) first name
(c) nickname
(d) surname

4. What is the mission of the English-only movement in the U.S.?
(a) Finance its own dictionary
(b) Find funding to teach English in third world nations
(c) Make English the official language
(d) Find funding for the study of the English language

5. The works of which author show the development of religious curses and expletives?
(a) Shakespeare
(b) Dante
(c) Hemingway
(d) T.S. Eliot

6. What has prompted the English-only movement in the U.S.?
(a) English is easier to learn than other languages
(b) The prevalence of the U.S. in world business
(c) The growing Hispanic population of the U.S.
(d) English is easier to speak than other languages

7. What is the second word game described by the author in Chapter 15?
(a) Sudoku
(b) Yahtzee
(c) Scrabble
(d) Monopoly

8. Many words that were once considered taboo are now considered to be ______________________.
(a) inappropriate
(b) quite innocent
(c) slightly offensive
(d) vulgar

9. A trend seen on both sides of the Atlantic is that of _________________________.
(a) restricting swear words in public
(b) whispering swear words in public
(c) fining for swear words written in public
(d) punishing for swear words said in public

10. How do the British typically view American pronunciation and vocabulary?
(a) They are open to anything American
(b) They want to destroy them
(c) They try to emulate them
(d) They look down on them

11. What did North American immigrants do with their native languages?
(a) They abandoned them
(b) They modified them radically
(c) They held to them steadfastly
(d) They modified them somewhat

12. The tendency to change names and pronunciations occurs _____________________.
(a) Italy
(b) Germany
(c) In Britain and America
(d) China

13. In addition to people names, what else has had a similar naming process in both England and America?
(a) Animal names
(b) Street names
(c) Place names
(d) Insect names

14. In what year is the dictionary mentioned in #113 printed?
(a) 1492
(b) 1776
(c) 1563
(d) 1755

15. Which speakers are becoming a minority of single-language users around the world?
(a) English speakers
(b) Italian speakers
(c) French speakers
(d) German speakers

Short Answer Questions

1. From what industries do new words in American and Britain come?

2. Why do other languages borrow English words and expressions?

3. English grammar rules are based on what?

4. According to the author what will happen when English comes into its own as a modern language of international importance?

5. American surnames can be traced to ____________________ names.

(see the answer keys)

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