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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In what century did demand for dictionaries increase?
(a) The 15th.
(b) The 16th.
(c) The 14th.
(d) The 17th.

2. In what year did Dr. Minor arrive in London?
(a) 1832.
(b) 1831.
(c) 1857.
(d) 1864.

3. How were Minor's and Murray's families similar?
(a) They were both deeply pious.
(b) They were both poor.
(c) They did not have a father figure.
(d) They both ignored each man as a child.

4. How many years did it take to complete the Oxford English Dictionary?
(a) Forty.
(b) Sixty.
(c) Twenty.
(d) Seventy.

5. What did Merrett's killer claim about the murder?
(a) It was easy.
(b) He was too drunk to know what was happening.
(c) He had been waiting to do that for some time.
(d) It was in self defense.

6. Why did the demand for dictionaries increase according to the author in Chapter 4?
(a) More immigrants came to England.
(b) Many of the original dictionaries were burned.
(c) The language changed markedly.
(d) People wanted to learn about more difficult words.

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

8. What kind of Christianity did the Murray family follow?
(a) Methodist.
(b) Seventh Day Adventists.
(c) United Church of Christ.
(d) Congregationalist.

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

10. Many critics find the Oxford English Dictionary to be ______________.
(a) Strange and racist.
(b) Thoughtless and ridiculous.
(c) Racist and sexist.
(d) Ridiculous and sexist.

11. How many years from Trench's speech about a new dictionary did the project actually get off the ground?
(a) Twelve years.
(b) Sixteen years.
(c) Twenty-two years.
(d) Eighteen years.

12. Murray was born next to the border of _________.
(a) Ireland.
(b) Scotland.
(c) Panama.
(d) France.

13. What climate is the island of Ceylon?
(a) Koppen.
(b) Tropical.
(c) Desert.
(d) Snowy.

14. In Chapter 2, the author gives a detailed description of what word?
(a) Protagonist.
(b) Love.
(c) Antgonist.
(d) Murder.

15. When are the first Latin dictionaries noted to have been in existence?
(a) 1273.
(b) 1232.
(c) 1225.
(d) 1321.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. Merrett's killer was from ______________.

3. What two words does the author use to describe the Lambeth area, particularly in relation to the undrained marsh?

4. How did Mr. Trench define the importance of the English language insofar as Christianity?

5. How did the author describe the attitude of the killer caught for Merrett's death upon the killer's capture?

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