ENGLISH 12

SAMPLE EXAM: June 2010

Renaissance and Restoration Poetry

Multiple Choice

Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

____ 1. Which of the following excerpts from “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” is the best example of a metaphysical conceit?

a. / “So let us melt, and make no noise, / No tear-floods, nor sigh-tempests move, / 'Twere profanation of our joys / To tell the laity our love.”
b. / “But we by a love so much refined, / That our selves know not what it is…”
c. / “Our two souls therefore, which are one, / Though I must go, endure not yet / A breach, but an expansion, / Like gold to airy thinness beat.”
d. / “If they be two, they are two so / As stiff twin compasses are two; / Thy soul the fixed foot, makes no show / To move, but doth, if th'other do.”

____ 2. What can you infer about the speaker's situation from these final lines from “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning”?

Thy firmness makes my circle just,

And makes me end where I begun.

a. / The speaker and his lover are bound, though they may be apart.
b. / The speaker feels he is going around in circles to attract his lover.
c. / The relationship between the speaker and his lover seems to go over the same ground again and again.
d. / The strength of the speaker's love keeps him prisoner.

____ 3. In “To His Coy Mistress,” to what does Marvell allude in the line “Time's winged chariot hurrying near”?

a. / a gathering of angels
b. / his love's acceptance of him
c. / the approach of death
d. / unwanted attentions from his rival

____ 4. In “To His Coy Mistress,” the lines “The grave's a fine and private place, / But none I think do there embrace” are an expression of which attitude toward death?

a. / acceptance of death's inevitability but disbelief in any comfort of eternal life
b. / denial that life and love end with death
c. / desire for death and rejection of earthly passions and pains
d. / belief in the enjoyment of earthly pleasures combined with anticipation of life after death

____ 5. The rosebuds in the first line of “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” are a symbol of

a. / the beauty of nature.
b. / early childhood.
c. / the joys of youth.
d. / love and marriage.

____ 6. What does the flower symbolize in these lines from “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time”?

And this same flower that smiles today

Tomorrow will be dying.

a. / the length of human life
b. / a prosperous garden
c. / the innocence of life
d. / disappointment in love

____ 7. Where does the rhymed couplet appear in Shakespearean sonnets?

a. / at the end of each quatrain
b. / at the beginning of each quatrain
c. / in the first two lines of the poem
d. / in the final two lines of the poem

____ 8. In “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love,” what does the speaker urge his love to do?

a. / forgive him for loving another
b. / run away with him to the city
c. / come live with him in the country
d. / help him feed his flocks

____ 9. Which word best describes the setting in “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love”?

a. / imperfect
b. / primitive
c. / harmonious
d. / idealized

____ 10. Why does the nymph reject the shepherd in “The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd”?

a. / Time will pass and the joys of youth will fade.
b. / She has no desire to live in the country.
c. / She loves another and will not leave him.
d. / She grew tired of waiting and married another.

____ 11. What is the speaker's attitude in “The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd”?

a. / agreeable
b. / passionate
c. / realistic
d. / insulted

____ 12. What is the speaker's attitude toward love and youth in “The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd”?

a. / Youth never experiences true love.
b. / Youth is the only time for love.
c. / Love and youth are endless.
d. / Love and youth are brief.

____ 13. What does the speaker mean in these lines from “The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd”?

Thy gowns, thy shoes, thy beds of roses, / Thy cap, thy kirtle, and thy posies / Soon break, soon wither, soon forgotten, / In folly ripe, in reason rotten.

a. / None of these things matter if love is true.
b. / All of these things wear out in time, as does love itself.
c. / The reasons for these things have changed.
d. / Those are foolish and illogical ideas.

____ 14. What does the speaker mean in this line from “The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd”?

But could youth last and love still breed….

a. / As people get older, love fades.
b. / Young people do not know the meaning of love.
c. / Love will outlast time.
d. / Only young people are able to love completely.

____ 15. What does carpe diem mean?

a. / live for tomorrow
b. / prepare for death
c. / seize the day
d. / life is long

Frankenstein

True/False

Indicate whether the statement is true or false.

____ 16. Victor dislikes Professor Waldman because he is ugly.

____ 17. Victor is unhappy when his creature disappears.

____ 18. The miniature portrait is found in Justine’s clothes.

____ 19. The monster hates the lazy cottagers.

____ 20. The monster tries to gain the friendship of the old man.

____ 21. At first Victor refuses to create a female monster but then changes his mind.

____ 20. On their honeymoon, Victor hears Elizabeth’s scream but arrives too late to save her.

____ 21. Walton achieves revenge for Victor by killing the monster.

Multiple Choice

Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

____ 22. When Walton rescues Victor, he is astonished because Victor

a. / first asks him which way the ship is going. / c. / has a strange companion.
b. / tries to hijack the ship. / d. / looks like a monster.

____ 22. An act of nature that strongly affects Victor is a

a. / volcanic eruption in Italy. / c. / lightning bolt that destroys an oak.
b. / blinding blizzard in the Alps. / d. / solar eclipse.

____ 23. Victor’s first response to the monster is to

a. / comfort him and attend to his needs. / c. / try to lock him up.
b. / try to talk to him. / d. / shudder at his appearance.

____ 24. Justine confesses to William’s murder because

a. / she is the real murderer. / c. / she saw the monster kill William.
b. / Elizabeth doesn’t believe in her innocence. / d. / she wants to obtain God’s forgiveness.

____ 25. One of the monster’s earliest discoveries involves the

a. / value of weapons. / c. / usefulness of fire.
b. / importance of reading. / d. / need for a saw and hammer.

____ 26. The monster stops stealing the cottagers’ food because he

a. / gets caught. / c. / finds a nearby storehouse of food.
b. / realizes that they need it. / d. / doesn’t need to eat.

____ 27. When the cottagers reject the monster, the monster

a. / blames Henry. / c. / kills De Lacey.
b. / ransacks the village. / d. / burns the cottage.

____ 28. After telling his story, the monster wants Victor to

a. / see him no more. / c. / accept him into the family.
b. / die in mortal combat. / d. / create a female monster.

____ 29. Victor goes to the Orkneys to

a. / meet Henry. / c. / create the female monster.
b. / confer with other scientists. / d. / find the monster.

____ 30. Victor dies in the presence of

a. / the monster / c. / his father.
b. / Walton. / d. / Margaret.

____ 31. Why doesn’t Victor protect Elizabeth, his wife, from the monster’s attack on their wedding night?

a. / He does not think the monster will come. / c. / He misunderstands the monster’s warning.
b. / He thinks that Elizabeth can protect herself. / d. / He doesn’t love Elizabeth anymore.

____ 32. What does Walton do after Victor dies?

a. / He returns to England. / c. / He continues on toward the North Pole.
b. / He remains stuck in the Arctic ice. / d. / He pursues Frankenstein’s monster.

____ 33. How does the monster taunt Victor?

a. / By reminding Victor of his former obligation. / c. / By forcing Victor to relive Elizabeth’s death.
b. / By leaving clues and messages for Victor. / d. / By writing his own life story.

____ 34. What does the monster say that he has become?

a. / a civilized man / c. / a traumatized victim
b. / a new kind of artist / d. / an instrument of evil

Age of Reason - Satire

Multiple Choice

Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

____ 35. In Gulliver's Travels, what are the Lilliputians quarreling about that leads to war?

a. / what to do with Gulliver
b. / which end of an egg to break open
c. / who owns the island of Blefuscu
d. / how to elect political leaders

____ 36. What is Swift satirizing in the story of the dispute between the Big-Endians and the Little-Endians in Gulliver's Travels?

a. / arguments over unimportant things
b. / the inability to learn how others think
c. / the superiority of the upper class
d. / stubbornness against trying new ideas

____ 37. In Gulliver's Travels, what is Swift satirizing when he writes about the Lilliputian wars?

a. / religious wars
b. / land wars
c. / political wars
d. / family conflicts

____ 38. What does Gulliver do to help prevent a war between the Lilliputians and the Blefuscudians in Gulliver's Travels?

a. / He destroys the Blefuscudians' entire navy.
b. / He acts as an ambassador for the Lilliputians to work out a peace treaty.
c. / He shows himself to the Blefuscudians, frightening them into giving up.
d. / He captures fifty of the Blefuscudians' mightiest warships.

____ 39. In Gulliver's Travels, why does the Lilliputian king become angry with Gulliver?

a. / Gulliver has threatened to leave the country.
b. / Gulliver changed sides and is aiding the Blefuscudians.
c. / Gulliver refuses to help the king conquer Blefuscu.
d. / Gulliver has refused to break open his egg.

____ 40. What conclusion about the qualifications of England's lawmakers does the king of Brobdingnag draw in Gulliver's Travels?

a. / They should be ignorant, idle, and corrupt.
b. / They should be thoughtful, hard-working, and just.
c. / They should be generous, careful, and kind.
d. / They should be intelligent, clever, and wise.

____ 41. In Gulliver's Travels, the king of Brobdingnag listens carefully to Gulliver's stories of England. What does the king conclude about the English?

a. / They are a powerful group.
b. / They are democratic people.
c. / They are disgusting vermin.
d. / They are a civilized race.

____ 42. In “A Modest Proposal,” what does Swift propose doing to solve the problem of poverty in Ireland?

a. / sell children of the poor into slavery
b. / ship all Catholic children to England
c. / slaughter children of the poor for food
d. / train poor children for the English army

____ 43. Which statement from “A Modest Proposal” is an example of sarcasm?

a. / “They can very seldom pick up a livelihood by stealing till they arrive at six years old.”
b. / “It is a melancholy object…when they see the streets…crowded with beggars…”
c. / “I think it is agreed…that this prodigious number of children…is…a very great additional grievance.”
d. / “These mothers…are forced to employ all their time…to beg sustenance for their helpless infants.”

____ 44. According to “A Modest Proposal,” how long does Swift propose that mothers keep their children?

a. / until they are one year old
b. / until they are adults
c. / until they finish school
d. / until someone buys them

____ 45. Which term best describes the italicized portion of this statement from “A Modest Proposal”?

I grant this food will be somewhat dear, and therefore very proper for landlords, who, as they have already devoured most of the parents, seem to have the best title to the children.

a. / Understatement
b. / Modest
c. / Historical
d. / Exaggeration

____ 46. Swift titled his essay, “A Modest Proposal.” Which term best describes his use of the word modest?

a. / Understatement
b. / Exaggeration
c. / Sarcasm
d. / Historical

____ 47. Swift includes many facts and statistics in “A Modest Proposal.” What seems to be his purpose in including this information?

a. / to convince people to act
b. / to make his proposal appear logical
c. / to add humor to his proposal
d. / to justify laws to protect the poor

____ 48. Who is Swift's main audience for “A Modest Proposal”?

a. / poor Irish people
b. / Americans
c. / French citizens
d. / English landlords

____ 49. In “A Modest Proposal,” why does Swift seem unconcerned about poor people who are old and sick?

a. / Poor older people already receive help from their neighbors.
b. / The old and sick in Ireland are cared for by their families.
c. / They are not a long-term problem because they die quickly.
d. / Their economic conditions are improving due to government aid.

____ 50. What is the author's purpose in writing “A Modest Proposal”?

a. / to quickly reduce the population of Ireland
b. / to call attention to the problem of poverty in Ireland
c. / to enable poor mothers to earn more money
d. / to encourage Catholics to leave Ireland

____ 51. Underlying Swift’s proposal is

a. / sympathy for the poor / c. / outrage at England’s policies in Ireland
b. / indifference toward the poor / d. / outrage at Ireland’s meek acceptance of British policies

____ 52. By having the proposal favor the “lessening of the number of Papists among us,” Swift indicates that

a. / he himself is prejudice against Roman Catholicism / c. / there are too many Papists in the world
b. / religious persecution is a factor in England’s policies toward Ireland / d. / most Irish people are Roman Catholic

____ 53. Swift conveys his message by primarily employing