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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How have many described the language of the Oxford English Dictionary?
(a) Complicated.
(b) Easy.
(c) Basic.
(d) Arrogant.

2. What word is defined in the opening of the book?
(a) Murder.
(b) Love.
(c) Word.
(d) Kill.

3. According to Mr. Trench, who approved of the global spread of the English language?
(a) The Queen.
(b) Jesus.
(c) God.
(d) Christians.

4. In what area of Ceylon did the Minors set up their residence in 1834?
(a) Manepay.
(b) Trivandrum.
(c) Doa.
(d) Cochin.

5. What was the tragedy of the three shots fired named by the papers?
(a) "The Lambeth Tragedy."
(b) "The Great Tragedy."
(c) "The Tragedy of London."
(d) "The Strategery."

6. What did Mr. Trench argue about the major dictionaries available at the time?
(a) They had major defects.
(b) Only one had proper command of the English language.
(c) They were incorrect.
(d) They were sufficient for disseminating the English language at the time.

7. In what year did the making of the Oxford English Dictionary begin?
(a) 1853.
(b) 1857.
(c) 1847.
(d) 1856.

8. When was Minor born?
(a) March, 1831.
(b) June, 1834.
(c) January, 1842.
(d) May, 1832.

9. What central figure in the story happened across Murray's appeal to the English people in regards to the Oxford English Dictionary?
(a) Nakiesha Wilson.
(b) James Koss.
(c) Mr. Trench.
(d) Dr. William Minor.

10. What was the nickname of the Oxford English Dictionary?
(a) "The Little Dictionary."
(b) "This Big Dictionary."
(c) "The One and Only."
(d) "Old English."

11. What kind of work did the Minors do in Ceylon?
(a) Missionary.
(b) Tea plantation.
(c) Coconut farming.
(d) Coffee plantation.

12. What was the driving force behind Minor's spiral into "lust, madness, and perdition"?
(a) The gambling scene in Ceylon.
(b) The constant moving of his family.
(c) The drug culture of Ceylon.
(d) The women of Ceylon.

13. At what time where the three shots fired in the opening of the book?
(a) Midnight.
(b) 5 a.m.
(c) 1 a.m.
(d) 2 a.m.

14. Who killed Merrett?
(a) Chester James Wilcox.
(b) James Chester Minor.
(c) John Washington Wilcox.
(d) William Chester Minor.

15. What were Merrett's killer's two former professional positions?
(a) Army officer and qualified surgeon.
(b) Professor and army officer.
(c) Police officer and professor.
(d) Qualified surgeon and police officer..

Short Answer Questions

1. On what holiday did Dr. Minor arrive in London in the opening of Chapter 4, Gathering Earth's Daughters?

2. Who would publish the first Oxford English Dictionary?

3. How did the audience react to the fact that hundreds of amateurs would be needed to take on such a project for a new dictionary?

4. Which of the following is noted to have been a fact four hundred years earlier than Mr. Trench's speeches?

5. Who heard the three shots fired in the beginning of the book?

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