View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In Chapter Four, who does Carr claim were the first people to use a specialized medium for writing?
(a) The Greeks.
(b) The Sumerians.
(c) The Arabs.
(d) The Europeans.

2. What did a 2006 study by Jupiter Research reveal a huge overlap in, according to Carr in Chapter Five?
(a) Smartphone use and computer use.
(b) Web surfing and eating.
(c) TV viewing and Smartphone use.
(d) TV viewing and Web surfing.

3. Which neuroscientist carried out ground-breaking experiments in the late 1960s that pioneered the ideas of neuroplasticity?
(a) Norman Dodge.
(b) Michael Merzenich.
(c) Jessica Joyner.
(d) Rene Descartes.

4. What else besides repeated physical actions can rewire the human brain?
(a) Having and walking a dog every day.
(b) Herbs and spices.
(c) Purely mental activity.
(d) Direct exposure to bright sunlight.

5. In Chapter Three, what does Carr say Theuth thought about the art of writing?
(a) He thought it would lead to uprisings against the ruling classes.
(b) He thought it would lead to unrest among the farmers.
(c) He thought it would make Egyptians wiser and improve their memories.
(d) He thought it would lead people to more secular lives.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does the brain's ability to adapt to changes shift as people age?

2. What do instrumentalists believe, according to Carr?

3. What famous work of Saint Augustine's does Carr reference in Chapter Four?

4. Which was one of the first computers Carr ever bought for his own personal use?

5. What does Hebb's rule say?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter One, what activity does Carr propose heavy Internet use has diminished human capacity for?

2. When scientists first discovered how adaptable, or "plastic" the brain was, how did the field of neuroscience receive this revelation?

3. How does Carr describe the beliefs of a technological instrumentalist?

4. What movie does Carr reference in Chapter One, and what does he use the reference to illustrate?

5. In Chapter One, how does Joe O'Shea feel about his decision to stop reading books in favor of the shorter-form content of the Internet?

6. What style of reading does author David Levy describe in Chapter Four that Carr thinks is useful for learning?

7. In Chapter Three, what does Carr identify as the format of some of the earliest Sumerian writing that archaeologists and historians have uncovered?

8. What invention did Lee de Forest create, and what technological advances did it allow for?

9. According to Carr, what is one way in which a reader can connect deeply with a book he is reading?

10. In Chapter Five, what is the most important difference Carr identifies between the Net and most of the mass media it replaces, like television?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 905 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample