Department of English
Bishop Heber College, Tiruchirappalli
I BA English - Prose - I
Question Bank – Multiple Choice Questions
Bacon’s “Of Studies”
1. According to Bacon the chief use of study is:
(a) Ability (b) Ornament (c) Delight (d) Adornent
2. To Bacon to spend too much time in studies is:
(a) Affection (b) Affectation (c) Studious (d) Sloth
3. For abilities which are natural is like natural plants that need _________
(a) pruning by study (b) sunlight (c) air (d) water
4. According to Bacon who condemns studies?
a. crafty men b. simple men c. wise men d. ready men
5. ___________maketh a full man
(a) speaking (b) reading (c) writing (d) listening
6. History makes men wise; poets witty; mathematics subtle and natural philosophy _____
(a) shallow (b) deep (c) intense (d) low
7. The exercise bowling is good for ______ and reins
(a) rock (b) sand (c) stone (d) none of the above
8.A man who studies a lot is temperamentally ___________
(a)active (b) inactive (c) smart (d) lazy
9.Studies develop the man’s natural ____________
(a) ability (b) inability (c) value (d) none of the above
10.Different kinds of ________ have different effects upon the reader.
(a) books (b) compact discs (c) equipments (d) none of the above
11.Experience is essential to add to the value of __________
(a)land (b) gold (c) building (d) studies
12. The study of logic and rhetoric develop a man’s
(a) muscles (b) intelligence (c) debating power (d) none of the above
13. Planning and Management of affairs are expected only from persons
(a) who seldom reads (b) who debate often (c) who reads a lot (d) none of the above
14. Some Books are to be tasted,othersswallowed,and some few to be chewed and
(a) spitted (b) vomited (c) digested (d) none of the above
15. One should not read books merely to contradict others but to
(a) judge the cost of the book (b) judge the number of pages in the book (c) judge the value of the material the book contains (d) judge the time taken to make us sleepy
16. Simple men admire studies and wise men ______ them
(a) use (b) misuse (c) lecture (d) none of the above
17. Bacon’s style is known for:
(a) pathos (b) humour
(c) paradox (d) aphorisms
18. According to Bacon what maketh an exact man?
(a) sleeping (b) eating
(c) chatting (d) reading
19. Bacon suggests that if a man’s wit be wandering let him study:
(a) Mathematics (b) History
(c) Philosophy (d) Logic
20. According to Bacon what makes men wise?
(A) Physics (B) Mathematics
(C) Philosophy (D) History
21. According to Bacon gentle walking is good for
(a) eyes (b) stomach
(c) brain (d) lungs
22. According to Bacon philosophy makes men:
(a) wise (b) witty(c) subtle (d) grave
23. Bacon suggests that the general counsels come best from those that are :
a. Experienced b. Professionals c. Learned d. Businessmen
24. To use studies too much for Ornament is _______
a. affection b. affectation c. adornment d. none
25. To Bacon one must read to :
a. weigh and consider b. contradict and confute c. talk and discourse d. take for granted
J.B. Priestley’s “Lectures”
51. According to Priestley what is more foolish than going to hear a lecture?
a) learning from a lecture b) giving a lecture
c) preparing a lecture d) not giving a lecture
52. To Priestley there is no glory, no fun and no money in _____
a) writing b) giving a lecture
c) acting d) none
53. Priestley is greatly in demand as a lecturer.
a) true b) false
c) not much d) none
54. Priestley is basically a good ________
a) singer b) lecturer
c) writer d) dancer
55. If Priestley is given a pile of sheets, a fountain-pen or a type writer he will do his __________
(a) worst (b) best
(c) will not care (d) rest
56. According to Priestley to-er-is human, to ________ divine
(a) refuse (b) forgive
(c) forget (d) none
57. According to Priestley a successful lecturer takes a delight in his ________
(a) voice (b) audience
(c) mannerisms (d) dress
58. When he gives a lecture, Priestley ______ the town, the hall, the audience and himself.
(a) adores (b) loves
(c) despises (d) likes
59. What does Priestley say about his audience?
(a) dreary people (b) malicious people
(c) snarling pedants (d) all the above
60. If Priestley went on an American tour there would be men waiting with_____ outside the hall.
(a) garlands (b) cash prize
(c) guns (d) none
61. WhenPriestley writes, he feels that he is addressing a company of ____________ persons
(a) bored persons (b) pleasant persons
(c) pedants (d) none
62. Priestley has probably ______________ a hundred readers every time he gives a lecture
(a) gained (b) lost
(c) added (d) none
63. Just as the young ____________ falls into an ecstasy at the sound of flagons, the successful lecturer thrills with the pleasure of his voice
(a) Margantua (b) Targantua
(c) Gargantua (d) None
64. According to Priestley what is more foolish than going to hear a lecture?
(a) learning from a lecture (b) giving a lecture
(c) preparing a lecture (d) not giving a lecture
68. Priestley is _________ writer
(a) an American (b) an African (c) a British (d) an Indian
69. Priestley is _________ about lectures
(a) senseless (b) sensible (c) eager (d) none of the above
70.What does Priestley say about authors who give lectures?
(a) fools (b)idiots (c) successful men (d) none of the above
71. How does Priestley state his own performance as a lecturer?
(a) make proud of himself an hour (b) make fool of himself an hour (c) make glory of himself an hour (d) none of the above
72. What are Priestley’s thoughts about the audience he faces?
(a) Malicious people (b) very pleasant and sensible people (c) dear and gentle audience (d) none of the above
73. How does Priestley contrast the successful lecturer from the bad one? The successful lecturer ___________
(a) bliss with happiness (b) thrills with pleasure (c) harmony in delight (d) none of the above
74. What does Priestley imagine when the lecture he has promised to give seems nearer?
(a) He looks bright at nothing and his style wobbles (b) he is confident to take the audience at straight (c) he mesmerizes them with his voice and his style dictates. (d) none of the above
75. Gargantua refers to a
(a) princess (b) small monster (c) gigantic monster (d) plucky girl
76. Priestley feels as __________ if people are not interested in his lecture.
(a) happy as he can (b) a success (c) an insult (d) none of the above
77. Priestley has probably lost a _________ readers in a lecture and gained a twenty.
(a) hundred (b) dozen (c) handful of (d) none of the above
78. Priestley never wished to give an impression as a demanding______________
(a) reader (b) writer (c) lecturer (d) none of the above
79.How does Priestley conclude his essay?
(a) to err is human, to forgive is divine (b) to err is human, to refuse –divine (c) to err is lecturer, to forgive- audience (d) none of the above
80. Priestley ___________ to give lectures
(a) usually refuse (b) usually fervent (c) usually entreat (d) none of the above
831.A bad lecturer communicates his ____________ for the business.
(a) taste (b) distaste (c) folly (d) none of the above
82. J B Priestley fully refers as
(a) Jack Burke Priestley (b) James Boynton Priestley (c) John Boynton Priestley (d) Jefferson Babington Priestley
83. ‘The Times’ is
(a) one of the American leading newspapers (b) one of the Indian leading newspapers (c) one of the leading British newspapers (c) favourite T.V show
84. A heavy shower of letters came for the mistakes made by famous
(a) poets (b) novelist (c) prose writers (d) actors
85.The poet confess that before writing an article consults ___________ to make sure on the errors.
(a) encyclopaedia (b) dictionary (c) facebook (d) wiki
86. Bores thrive because of people’s ____________.
a. astuteness b. eccentricity c. cunningness d. cowardice
87. E.V.Lucas often contributed articles to a journal called ____________.
a. Tatler b. Spectator c. Punch d. The Hindu
88. The essay “Bores” is taken from the collection titled _____________.
a. Listener’s Lure b. Cricket all his Life c. Events and Embroideries d. all the above
89. Bores are always known for their _______________.
a. cowardice b. indolence c. egotism d. ingeniousness
90. The one who has a fixed idea to impart is called a ___________.
a. flatterer b. philanthrop c. idiosyncratic d. bore
91. A true bore is one who is always unconscious of his _________________
a. foolishness b. borishness c.prudishness d. none of the above
92. According to Lucas, _____________ people are seldom bores.
a. busy b. simple c.kind d. poor
93. The saying ‘live and let live’ is attributed to the writer _____________.
a. Schiller b. Immanuel Kant c. William Henley d. Father Newman
94. The most repellent specimen of all the bores is called a ___________ bore
a. blissful b. eccentric c. buttonholing d. notorious
95. Bores thrive because of people’s ____________.
. a. astuteness b. eccentricity c. cunningness d. cowardice
96. The essay “Bores” is taken from the collection titled _____________.
a. Listener’s Lure b. Cricket all his Life c. Events and Embroideries d. all the above
97. A true bore is one who is always unconscious of his _________________
a. foolishness b. borishness c.prudishness d. silliness
98. Bores come out successful in life because they find a number of ready ________.
a) Listeners b) Speakers c) Preachers d) lecturer
99. No one is courageous enough to tell the bores that their company is _________.
a) Friendly b) tedious c) familiar d) gifted
100. Buttonholing bore is ‘the man who spreads ________ all over you’.
a) Rejoices b) Sticky c) birdlime d) Aroma
E.V. Lucas’s “Bores”
101. Lucas father used to say “__________”.
a) Do or die b) fair is foul c) to be or not to be d) Live and let live
102. The only way to get rid of a bore is to tell him frankly that he is a _________.
a) Nuisance b) Good companion c) Fellow traveler d) Savior
103. ________ cannot be shaken off just by gestures or indirect hints
a) Preacher b) Bores c) Lucas d) A fellow traveler
104. Unless these weekly papers stop publication, bores are bound to___________.
a) Fade b) demolish c) flourish d) cherish
105. Few men are strong enough to say, ‘For Heaven’s sake, go away, you _________ me.’
a) Cheat b) love c) trust d) weary
106. In 1889 Lucas joined the staff of the__________.
a) Wessex Daily News b)Sussex Daily News c) Punch d) Methuen & Co
107. _______ is a word used by the Gileadites as atest to detect the fleeing Ephraimites.
a. Bores b. Shibboleth c. button-holding d. stigma
108. The word “axle-tree” means _______
a. rod b. stick c. coat d. carriage
109. Before the First World War Lucas was for a while interested in the ________ .
a) Theatre b) Prose c) Poetry d) Fiction
110. “It requires a sense of superiority, assurance and ___________ to write about bores at all
a) Selflessness b)self Motive c) self confidence d) selfishness
111. _________ is a bore’s foundation stone
a) Socialism b) Humour c) Idealism d) Egotism
Robert Lynd’s “In Praise of Mistakes”
112. To Lynd, the only fatal error in a writer is to be________
(a) accurate (b) uninteresting
(c) interesting (d) none
113.Dr.Johnson endeared himself to posterity by his _________ in his dictionary.
(a) blunders (b) accurate definitions
(c) interesting details (d) none
114. To Lynd, all comedy arises from other people’s _________
(a) jokes (b) mistakes
(c) foolishness (d) none
115. The inaccuracies of the historian ________ have been laughed at.
(a) Dryden (b) Aristotle
(c) Froude (d) Plato
116. According to Lynd, the poet uses the word “chrysoberyl” for the _________
(a) sense` (b) sound
(c) precious stone (d) none
117. What according to Lynd is the chief value of error?
(a) makes the reader superior (b) confuses the readers
(c) makes the reader laugh (d) none
118. According to Lynd, there has been a heavy shower of letters in _______ about the mistakes made by famous novelists:
(a) The Times (b) The Morning Star
(c) The Saturday Review (d) None
119. Why does Lynd awakes out of dream at night and breaks into a sweat of fear?
(a ) bad dreams (b) is anxious if he had made a mistake
(c) suffers from sleeplessness (d) none
120. ____________ blundered in Chronology and geography
(a) Hazlitt (b) Milton
(c) Shakespeare (d) Scot
121. The true error-hunter is a man who searches for error as men search for______
(a) Iron (b) Gold
(c) Diamond (d) Copper
122. According to Lynd, in the history of the world the man who makes mistakes has never been ________
(a) rewarded (b) censured
(c) appreciated (d) none
123. Robert Lynd remarks as one grows older no doubt, one cares less for the rarer kind of
jewellery in ____________
(a) article (b) prose (c) drama (d) poetry
124.Robert Lynd remarks as one grows older no doubt, one cares less for the rarer kind of
jewellery in
(a) article (b) prose (c) drama (d) poetry
125. The truth is, the only fatal error in a writer is to be ____________
(a) careless (b) truth less (c) fiction less (d) un interesting
126. All ________ probably arises from our enjoyment of other people’s mistakes
(a) tragedy (b) praise (c) comedy (d) none of the above
127. Novelists need not be __________ by being accused of blundering.
(a) perturbed (b) relaxed (c) praised (d) none of the above
128. Robert Lynd points out that the newspapers are full of accurate articles and correct information ____________ give pleasure.
(a) seldom (b) occasionally (c) obviously (d) none of the above
129. To err not only makes human but also_________
(a) clever (b) intelligent (c) wise (d) silly
130. A true error- hunter is a man who searches for error as men search for
(a) pearls (b) honey hive (c) gold (d) oil
131. Robert Lynd also gratifies his readers
(a) by misquoting the poets
(b) confusing Darius to Xerxes
( c) mentioning towns in wrong countries
(d) all the above
131.The Journalist quotes the beginning of an article by a punch :
(a) ‘all is well that ends well’
(b) ‘the Journey of a thousand miles starts in a single step’
(c) ‘the sting of the serpent is in its tail’
(d) all the above
132. A great many words that mean nothing to ordinary reader and yet reads with
(a)an irritation (b) an ignorance (c) a pleasure (d) disinterest
133.Robert Lynd proclaims that every writer concede a margin of error but the reader is more particular on the information of the ___________
(a) character (b) author (c) facts (d) all the above
134. Ornithologist is a person who studies
(a) birds (b) skin (c) brain (d) insects
135.Robert Lynd was born in
(a) Britain (b) Scotland (c) Ireland (d) Europe
