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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. The word which troubled Murray and was sent to Minor had _______________ "shades of meaning."
(a) Eight.
(b) Thirteen.
(c) Twenty-one.
(d) Six.

2. What did Murray threaten to do at various times due to the Delegates' interferences, slow pace, and his suffering health?
(a) Fire everyone.
(b) Stop the process.
(c) Resign.
(d) Report Minor to the police.

3. According to Minor, every word would possibly be a ______ now that he was beginning his work on the dictionary.
(a) "Challenge."
(b) "Play."
(c) "Catchword."
(d) "Flash."

4. How long did it take Murray to travel to see Minor?
(a) A little over a day.
(b) A bit under an hour.
(c) A bit over an hour.
(d) A bit under a day.

5. Why did many people write from abroad regarding Minor?
(a) To complain of his harrassment.
(b) To ask for his autograph.
(c) To make sure he was being well looked after.
(d) To request his euthanizing.

Short Answer Questions

1. What was Murray filled with after learning that Minor was a patient at the asylum?

2. What word did Huxley coin?

3. Whom does the author conjecture may have pushed Minor towards Deism?

4. According to the author, the subgroups in the Oxford English Dictionary had to be ______ organized.

5. What did the act of sending the rules to Minor symbolize to him?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why could Minor more easily understand Murray's directions in comparison to others?

2. Explain the significance of Minor's submissions evolving from one slip of paper to large paper bags arriving in Murray's office.

3. Describe how Minor may have felt when he entered the property at the Broadmoor Asylum.

4. What is controversial about the story of the meeting of Minor and Murray?

5. What does Murray's Scriptorium represent to present day scholars of the English language?

6. The author only briefly mentions Dr. Hall's absence from the dinner. Why is this significant in relation to his opinion of Minor?

7. In Chapter 6, what do the author's previously established characteristics of Minor suggest about how he may have gotten along with the parole patients in Block 2?

8. Why is it important, in relation to Minor's past, that the author states that people admired Minor for his meticulous work?

9. It is suggested that Murray's letter to Minor was a token of forgiveness. Why?

10. What can one infer from the fact that Minor had many people who wrote letters to Broadmoor, inquiring about his health and well-being?

(see the answer keys)

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