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, others swallowed, 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”
1. 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
2. To Priestley there is no glory, no fun and no money in _____
a) writing b) giving a lecture
c) acting d) none
3. Priestley is greatly in demand as a lecturer.
a) true b) false
c) not much d) none
4. Priestley is basically a good ________
a) singer b) lecturer
c) writer d) dancer
5. 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
6. According to Priestley to-er-is human, to ________ divine
(a) refuse (b) forgive
(c) forget (d) none
7. According to Priestley a successful lecturer takes a delight in his ________
(a) voice (b) audience
(c) mannerisms (d) dress
8. When he gives a lecture, Priestley ______ the town, the hall, the audience and himself.
(a) adores (b) loves
(c) despises (d) likes
9. What does Priestley say about his audience?
(a) dreary people (b) malicious people
(c) snarling pedants (d) all the above
10. 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
11. WhenPriestley writes, he feels that he is addressing a company of ____________ persons
(a) bored persons (b) pleasant persons
(c) pedants (d) none
12. Priestley has probably ______________ a hundred readers every time he gives a lecture
(a) gained (b) lost
(c) added (d) none
13. 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
14. 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
15. Priestley is _________ writer
(a) an American (b) an African (c) a British (d) an Indian
16. Priestley is _________ about lectures
(a) senseless (b) sensible (c) eager (d) none of the above
17.What does Priestley say about authors who give lectures?
(a) fools (b)idiots (c) successful men (d) none of the above
18. 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
19. 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
20. 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
21. 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
22. Gargantua refers to a
(a) princess (b) small monster (c) gigantic monster (d) plucky girl
23. 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
24. 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
25. Priestley never wished to give an impression as a demanding______________
(a) reader (b) writer (c) lecturer (d) none of the above
26.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
27. Priestley ___________ to give lectures
(a) usually refuse (b) usually fervent (c) usually entreat (d) none of the above
28.A bad lecturer communicates his ____________ for the business.
(a) taste (b) distaste (c) folly (d) none of the above
29. J B Priestley fully refers as
(a) Jack Burke Priestley (b) James Boynton Priestley (c) John Boynton Priestley (d) Jefferson Babington Priestley
30. ‘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
31. A heavy shower of letters came for the mistakes made by famous
(a) poets (b) novelist (c) prose writers (d) actors
32.The poet confess that before writing an article consults ___________ to make sure on the errors.
(a) encyclopaedia (b) dictionary (c) facebook (d) wiki
E.V. Lucas’s “Bores”
1. E.V. Lucas was commissioned to write a biography of ________ the Quaker poet.
a) Bernard Barton, b) G.B. Shaw c) Charles Lamb d) Mary Lamb
2. In 1889 Lucas joined the staff of the__________.
a) Wessex Daily News b) Sussex Daily News c) Punch d) Methuen & Co
3. In 1924 Lucas was appointed as the chairman of __________ Company.
a) Sussex Daily News b) London Magazine c) Methuen & Co d) Punch
4. Lucas first volume of poetry is ____________
a) The face on the wall b) Song of the Bat c) Willow and Leather d) A Spark from a Flint
5. Who declared Lucas's essays "among the most agreeable of our age"
a) Frank Swinnerton b) Charles lamb c) Henry Herbert d) Bernard Batron
6. Lucas play The Visit of the King was produced at the ________ in 1912,
a) Globe Theatre b) Palace Theatre c) Black Friar theatre d) Lotus Theatre
7. E.V. Lucas study of Highways and Byways in Sussex continues to influence postmodern explorations of the _____.
a) Royal b) Kings c) Local d) Middle class
8. From 1933 until his death he was a member of the _________ Advisory Committee
a) Kings Lands b) Queens Lands c) Swards Lands d) Crown Lands
9. Before the First World War Lucas was for a while interested in the ________ .
a) Theatre b) Prose c) Poetry d) Fiction
10. At the age of seventy Lucas died in a nursing home in _________ London
a) Eltham b) Marylebone c) Sussex d) Statford
11. “It requires a sense of superiority, assurance and ___________ to write about bores at all
a) Selflessness b)self Motive c) self confidence d) selfishness
12. _________ is a bore’s foundation stone
a) Socialism b) Humour c) Idealism d) Egotism
13. Bores come out successful in life because they find a number of ready ________.
a) Listeners b) Speakers c) Preachers d) lecturer
14. No one is courageous enough to tell the bores that their company is _________.
a) Friendly b) tedious c) familiar d) gifted
15. Buttonholing bore is ‘the man who spreads ________ all over you’.
a) Rejoices b) Sticky c) birdlime d) Aroma
16. 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
17. 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
18. ________ cannot be shaken off just by gestures or indirect hints
a) Preacher b) Bores c) Lucas d) A fellow traveler
19. Unless these weekly papers stop publication, bores are bound to___________.
a) Fade b) demolish c) flourish d) cherish
20. Few men are strong enough to say, ‘For Heaven’s sake, go away, you _________ me.’
a) Cheat b) love c) trust d) weary
21. Bores thrive because of people’s ____________.
a. astuteness b. eccentricity c. cunningness d. cowardice
22. E.V.Lucas often contributed articles to a journal called ____________.
a. Tatler b. Spectator c. Punch d. The Hindu
23. 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
24. Bores are always known for their _______________.
a. cowardice b. indolence c. egotism d. ingeniousness
25. The one who has a fixed idea to impart is called a ___________.
a. flatterer b. philanthropic c. idiosyncratic d. bore
26. A true bore is one who is always unconscious of his _________________
a. foolishness b. borishness c. prudishness d. none of the above
27. According to Lucas, _____________ people are seldom bores.
a. busy b. simple c.kind d. poor
28. The saying ‘live and let live’ is attributed to the writer _____________.
a. Schiller b. Immanuel Kant c. William Henley d. Father Newman
29. The most repellent specimen of all the bores is called a ___________ bore
a. blissful b. eccentric c. buttonholing d. notorious
30. Bores thrive because of people’s ____________.
a. astuteness b. eccentricity c. cunningness d. cowardice
31. A true bore is one who is always unconscious of his _________________
a. foolishness b. borishness c.prudishness d. silliness
32. _______ is a word used by the Gileadites as atest to detect the fleeing Ephraimites.
a. Bores b. Shibboleth c. button-holding d. stigma
33. The word “axle-tree” means _______
a. rod b. stick c. coat d. carriage
Robert Lynd’s “In Praise of Mistakes”
1. To Lynd, the only fatal error in a writer is to be________
(a) accurate (b) uninteresting
(c) interesting (d) none
2. Dr.Johnson endeared himself to posterity by his _________ in his dictionary.
(a) blunders (b) accurate definitions
(c) interesting details (d) none
3. To Lynd, all comedy arises from other people’s _________
(a) jokes (b) mistakes
(c) foolishness (d) none
4. The inaccuracies of the historian ________ have been laughed at.
(a) Dryden (b) Aristotle
(c) Froude (d) Plato
5. According to Lynd, the poet uses the word “chrysoberyl” for the _________
(a) sense` (b) sound
(c) precious stone (d) none
6. 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
7. 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
8. 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
9. ____________ blundered in Chronology and geography
(a) Hazlitt (b) Milton
(c) Shakespeare (d) Scot
10. The true error-hunter is a man who searches for error as men search for______
(a) Iron (b) Gold
(c) Diamond (d) Copper
11. 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
12. 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
13.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
14. The truth is, the only fatal error in a writer is to be ____________
(a) careless (b) truth less (c) fiction less (d) un interesting
15. All ________ probably arises from our enjoyment of other people’s mistakes
(a) tragedy (b) praise (c) comedy (d) none of the above
16. Novelists need not be __________ by being accused of blundering.
(a) perturbed (b) relaxed (c) praised (d) none of the above
17. 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
18. To err not only makes human but also_________
(a) clever (b) intelligent (c) wise (d) silly
19. A true error- hunter is a man who searches for error as men search for
(a) pearls (b) honey hive (c) gold (d) oil
20. 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
21.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
22. 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
23.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
24. Ornithologist is a person who studies
(a) birds (b) skin (c) brain (d) insects
25.Robert Lynd was born in
(a) Britain (b) Scotland (c) Ireland (d) Europe
A.G. Gardiner ‘s “A Fellow Traveller”
1. “Alpha of the Plough” is the pseudonym of ________
(a) Robert Lynd (b) Francis Bacon
(c) A.G Gardiner (d) J.B Priestley
2. A.G Gardiner’s fellow-traveller was a ________
(a) bird (b) man
(c) dog (d) mosquito
3. A.G Gardiner accused his fellow- traveller as _________
(a) a vagrant (b) a public nuisance
(c) travelling without a ticket (d) all the above
1394. A.G Gardiner travelled in a ______
(a) bicycle (b) train
(c) bus (d) none
1405. A.G Gardiner and his fellow- traveller knew about each other’s journey.
(a) true (b) false
(c) to some extent (d) none
1416. Name the writers who continually misquoted the poets they loved.
(a) Pope and Dryden (b) Bacon and Lamb
(c) Hazlitt and Swift (d) Lamb and Hazlitt
1427. A.G Gardiner’s fellow-traveller was a ________
(a) bird (b) man
(c) dog (d) mosquito
1438. According to Priestley to-er-is human, to ________ divine
(a) refuse (b) forgive
(c) forget (d) none
1449. Gardiner feels that he has interested in his fellow traveller and in return he has _________ him.
(a) insulted (b) pleased (c) entertained (d) worried
10. How does Gardiner describe his sense of freedom?
(a) pleasant (b) uneasy (c) boring (d) none of the above
11. How does Gardiner describe his sense of freedom?
(a) pleasant (b) uneasy (c) boring (d) none of the above
12. When one is alone in the carriage what can he do?
(a) sing and dance (b) open and close window (c) play golf and even stand on head
(d) all the above
13. How did the author responded to the behaviour of his fellow traveller?
(a) kissed him (b) flicked him off (c) prayed with him (d) danced and sung with
him
14.How many times the author warns his fellow traveller?
(a) dozen of times (b) a score of time (c) twice (d) often
15. Gardiner refers his fellow traveller as a __________
(a) genius (b) almighty (c) vagrant (d) all the above
16. After attacking his fellow traveller with a blow what did the author do?
(a) lunged him (b) jumped on the seat (c) adopted tactics of feline cunning (d) all
the above
17. According to A.G. Gardiner what are the noblest attributes of man?
(a) pride and prejudice (b) anger and rage (c) magnanimity and mercy (d) fear and
dilemma
18. Gardiner feels that __________ has made them fellow travelers
(a) misfortune (b) fortune (c) fate (d) all the above
19. Gardiner feels that he cannot kill his fellow traveller but ____________ him.
(a) reprieve (b) discharge (c) dismantle (d) none of the above
20. Gardiner was feeling ______________ to his fellow creature
(a) equal (b) inferior (c) superior (d) guilty
21. Gardiner refers whom to have called the non-human beings a as brother?
(a) St. Francis (b) St.Augutus (c) St.Thomas (d) none of the above
22. Gardiner feels that he has interested in his fellow traveller and in return he has _________ him.
(a) insulted (b) pleased (c) entertained (d) worried
23. Gardiner heard a friendly voice in the window who is it?
(a) Station master (b) engine driver (c) guard (d) friendly porter
24. A G Gardiner fully refers as
(a) Alwin Godwin Gardiner (b) Abel Gonsalvez Gardiner (c) Alfred George Gardiner (d) none of the above
(a) Made a menace (b) Spoke well and behaved gently (c) Ignored the author
(d) Sang and slept
Charles Lamb’s ‘Oxford in the Vacation’
1. Who is Elia?
a) Charles Lamb b) George Dyer c) Mary Lamb d) Clerk
2. Who was the child of London?
a) George Dyer b) Charles Lamb c) Dr. Johnson d) E.V. Lucas
3. He spent __________ years working as a clerk in the East India House
a) 43 b) 23 c) 33 d) 13
4. Lamb was renowned for his warm sense of ________ and legendary social gatherings
a) Tragedy b) Wits c) irony d) humour
5. In 1807, Charles Lamb and Mary Anne Lamb was published ____________
a) Tale from Shakespeare b) Tale from Bible c) Tale of Two cities d) Tale of Canterbury.
6. Charles died in______.
a) 1833 b) 1834 c) 1835 d) 1836
7. Essays of Elia was published in ____.
a) 1803 b) 1813 c) 1823 d) 1823
8. Oxford in the Vacation was first published in the London Magazine on _______.
a) Jul 1860 b) Aug 1860 c) Sep. 1860 d) Oct. 1860
9. Oxford in the vacation is written by one who never was at _______ as a student.
a) Oxford b) Cambridge c) Kingston d) New college
10. Lamb used to spend his annual holidays in the ______ and other part of the Oxford
a) Ground b) library c) Dining hall d) Campus
11. Lamb use to write under the pen-name of ______.
a) Charles b) Anne c) Elia d) Dyer
12. He tried to amuse the reader with an account of a clerks working in the_____.
a) East Sea House b) North Sea House c) South Sea House d) West Sea House
13. He used to look forward for holidays to spend times in ________ at Oxford libraries.
a) Sleeping b) Chatting c) Surfing net d) reading books
14. _______ feels as if he inhaling learning while in them
a) Lamb b) Dyer c) Some Menials d) Mary
15. Dyer was busy with ______ manuscript at Oriel
a) ancient b) modern c) postmodern d) new
16. Who himself look like an old book badly needing a new cover?
a) Charles Lamb b) George Dyer c) George Eliot d) G.B. Shaw
17. Dyer doing research concerning the past _________ of the two universities.
a) Civil b) geography c) history d) record
18. Lamb cares more for Oxford and Cambridge than he does for fashionable resorts as_____
a) New York b) Northampton c) Sussex d) Bath
19. Who hung in his uneasy posture in the old Baskett prayer book?
a) St. Peter b) St. Thomas c) St. Mathew d) St.Paul
20. Where “it seems as though all the souls of all the writers”
a) In oxford b) In old library c) In new library d) In Oxford campus
