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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. 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?
2. How many children did the Merretts have?
3. Who was the most famous editor of the Old English Dictionary?
4. In what city was Murray born?
5. Who wrote A Dictionary of the English Language?
Short Essay Questions
1. In what ways does the author state the compilation of the Dictionary of the English Language was different from the compilation of the Oxford English Dictionary?
2. Given the information that the reader gleans from the nature of the Philological Society, as well as people speaking in the London Library, what characteristics of the London Library in Minor's day show it to be different from a public library of this day and age?
3. Some critics say that Samuel Johnson put too much of his personality into his work on his dictionary. How would it be possible to avoid this type of criticism?
4. What can be appreciated about the Oxford English Dictionary being called "The Big Dictionary"?
5. How did Minor's branding of a deserting Irish soldier become connected to his excessive guilt about his own perceived "wrongs"?
6. Why does the author suggest Oxford finally conceded to the switch from Furnivall to Murray for the position of editor?
7. For what reasons did Minor become the most famous contributor to the Oxford English Dictionary?
8. In what way was Trench's appeal to the masses who would be needed to help compile the Oxford English Dictionary democratic?
9. Why might Minor's father have fallen so easily in love with Judith?
10. What can be surmised about the author's intention by naming his first chapter, " The Dead of Night in Lambeth Marsh"?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
What is significant about the fact that the text has two protagonists, Minor and Murray, and that the author himself points out that this goes against the definition of the word in "Modern English Usage," which states that protagonist can only be used in the singular?
Essay Topic 2
"The English-speaking world is better off for the death of Charles Merrett." How could this statement be considered to be true? Do you think the author agrees? Why or why not?
Essay Topic 3
How does the author show that The Oxford English Dictionary was a completely different undertaking than any of the dictionaries that had come before it? Illustrate your answer with examples from the text.
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This section contains 1,086 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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