The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary Test | Final Test - Medium

Simon Winchester
This set of Lesson Plans consists of approximately 137 pages of tests, essay questions, lessons, and other teaching materials.

The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary Test | Final Test - Medium

Simon Winchester
This set of Lesson Plans consists of approximately 137 pages of tests, essay questions, lessons, and other teaching materials.
Buy The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary Lesson Plans
Name: _________________________ Period: ___________________

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What style of building was Broadmoor?
(a) Gothic.
(b) Baroque.
(c) Victorian.
(d) Colonial.

2. What quality did many people who worked on the Oxford English Dictionary admire in Minor?
(a) Meticulousness.
(b) Love of words.
(c) Sense of patience.
(d) Zest for life.

3. From what country were the two men who did not attend the great dictionary dinner?
(a) Portugal.
(b) Great Britain.
(c) Ceylon.
(d) The United States.

4. What was Minor's most well known artistic inclination?
(a) Singing.
(b) Playing piano.
(c) Painting.
(d) Drawing.

5. According to the author, what sort of life did Minor live at Broadmoor?
(a) One of strangeness and many shocks.
(b) One of perfect leisure and security.
(c) One of luxury.
(d) One of inconsistency, but with good food.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to the author, for how long had Minor been planning to physically mutilate his sexual organs?

2. Whom did Murray impress with his definitions?

3. How many rooms did Minor have during his stay at Broadmoor?

4. How long did each book of the dictionary take Minor to complete?

5. What was the name of Minor's first book?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do you think Murray so grossly underestimated the amount of time it would take to finish the Oxford English Dictionary after the first publication of the first book?

2. What was one of the greatest mistakes Murray made upon arriving at Broadmoor and speaking to the superintendent?

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

4. Do you think it is the author's opinion that electroshock therapy affected Minor?

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

6. What is relevant about the fact that Minor was a fan of Huxley, particularly his idea of agnosticism?

7. What was miraculous about Mrs. Merrett deciding to see Minor at Broadmoor?

8. How did it become clear that Murray had very little idea of what psychological state Minor experienced?

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

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

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 858 words
(approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page)
Buy The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary Lesson Plans
Copyrights
BookRags
The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary from BookRags. (c)2026 BookRags, Inc. All rights reserved.