2. The number of books in England did what after the invention of the printing press?
(a) Tripled.
(b) Halved.
(c) Doubled.
(d) Quadrupled.

3. What is the Church of Scotland's more common name?
(a) The Kirk.
(b) The Catholic.
(c) The Anglican.
(d) The Scotch Catholic.

4. James VI of Scotland became James I of England in what year?
(a) 1596.
(b) 1702.
(c) 1603.
(d) 1557.

5. By what year were nearly half of the English literate, according to Chapter 3, A Muse of Fire?
(a) 1400.
(b) 1600.
(c) 1550.
(d) 1500.

6. When did James I die?
(a) 1440.
(b) 1650.
(c) 1625.
(d) 1700.

7. When was Ivanhoe written?
(a) 1819.
(b) 1803.
(c) 1915.
(d) 1695.

8. Which of the early Germanic tribes had speech that was Germanic and they lived Denmark?
(a) Celti.
(b) Anglii.
(c) Frisii.
(d) Buchi.

9. Where was Shakespeare born and raised?
(a) London.
(b) Wilforshire.
(c) Stratford-upon-Avon.
(d) Essex.

10. When did Robert MacNeil retire, according to his bio in the Introduction?
(a) 1998.
(b) 1992.
(c) 1995.
(d) 1990.

11. When did James I lead a council of bishops and Puritan divines to create the King James Bible?
(a) 1601.
(b) 1616.
(c) 1604.
(d) 1630.

12. English is the official language of how many countries?
(a) 43.
(b) 34.
(c) 25.
(d) 53.

13. The Anglo-Saxon language received a major boost when Christianity brought an enormous Latin vocabulary starting in what year?
(a) 283 B.C.
(b) 238 A.D.
(c) 359 A.D.
(d) 597 A.D.

14. For what newspaper is Robert McCrum listed as Literary Editor in the Introduction?
(a) The San Francisco Chronicle.
(b) The New York Times.
(c) The Observer.
(d) The London Times.

15. Robert McCrum writes in the Introduction, "Language, we know, is in ceaseless ____."
(a) Love.
(b) Flux.
(c) Flow.
(d) Motion.

Short Answer Questions

1. The Scots of the Lowlands first spoke a form of English brought by the Angles of Northumbria mixed with four ethnic groups that invaded during what period?

2. Who wrote The American Language?

3. What is another word for Old English?

4. Which name prefix did the Scots originate?

5. When was the Education Act passed in the United Kingdom?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 300 words
(approx. 1 page at 300 words per page)

View a FREE sample