COLLEGE OF DIVINE WISDOM

PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION
AFRO-ASIAN LITERATURE

Name: _______________________________________________________________ Date: _________________________ Score: _________

True or False: Write T if the statement is true and F if false.

____1. Asia is the second largest continent next to Africa.
____2. Poems in Afro-Asian literature usually tell about their history and culture.
____3. Culture is a standard or pattern, especially of social behavior, that is typical or expected of a group.
____4. Africa is the most genetically diverse people on Earth
____5. Mahatma Gandhi is one of those who fight racial oppression in South Africa.
____6. Literary Elements are not unavoidable aspect of literary works
____7. Confucian politics is hierarchical but not absolute and the political system is described by analogy with the family.
____8. Chinese religions are based on the perception of life as a process of continual change in which opposing forces balance one another.
____9. Buddhism appealed to both Confucians and Taoists.
____10. Most government officials were well-versed in literature and philosophy and many famous poets also served in the early Chinese government.

Multiple Choices: Choose the letter of the correct answer.

11. The following are the common themes shared between the c Ramayana d Mahabharata
literature of African and Asian countries. Which of these is not?
a. emotions b. family 22. ____ means ‘perfect speech’ is considered a sacred language,
c. peace d. nature the language spoken by the gods and goddesses.
a Dravidian b Hindu
12. What grade level on the K-12 program English curriculum
c Sanskrit d Panchatantra
primarily focuses on African-Asian (or Afro-Asian) literature?
a. Grade 7 b. Grade 8 23. _____ dominates every scene in Sanskrit drama.
c. Grade 9 d. Grade 10 a rama b sita
13. The African idea of security and its value depends on personal c rasa d dharma
identification with and within their group
a. Sense of Good Human Relations 24. _____ was seen as the only appropriate language for the noblest
b. Sense of Hospitality literary works in the classical literary period in India.
c. Sense of Community a Dravidian b Hindu
d. Family and Education c Sanskrit d Panchatantra
25. Rabindranath Tagore is best known for what?
14. The greatest virtue that can achieve is not greatness of one’s self,
a Indian equivalent of Shakespeare
which is viewed as being selfish and self-centered, but of fulfilling
b First Asian to receive Nobel Prize in Literature
his or her role in the whole of the family or group.
c The writer of Panchatantra
a. Loss of face, shame and honor
d Ascribed traditionally with Mahabharata
b. Family and Education
c. Reserve Conformity and Harmony
26. The Mahabharata is a poem which is made up of 100,000 _____
d. Sense of Community
divided into 18 _____.
a. lines - sections b. stanzas - parvans
15. The art of dialogue and conversation is a cherished value in
c. quatrains – section d. couplets - parvans
African human People freely discusses their problems and look
for suggestions and solutions together. “The draughts I drank have borne me up, as fleet-foot horses draw a car
a Reserve Conformity and Harmony Have I not drunk of soma-juice?”-Rig Veda
b Sense of Community 27. What do the lines above suggest about Hindus?
c Benevolence and Obligation a The Hindus are deeply absorbed with God and the Creation of the
d Sense of Good Human Relations universe.
b The Hindus regard religion as their only way to save themselves
16. What is the meaning of VEDA in Sanskrit? from sin or evil.
a Sacred Hymns b Sacred Knowledge c The Hindus drink some-juice to express their religiosity.
c Sacred Songs d Sacred Literature d Whenever there is draught, the Hindus offer soma-juice to
appease God’s anger.
17. What Indian Literary Period was the Mahabharata and the
Ramayana were written? 28. PURUSARTHA ___
a Vedic Period b Epic and Buddhist Age a is the cycle of births and deaths
c Classical Period d Medieval and Modern Age b refers to one of the proper pursuits of man in his role as
householder
18. What Indian Literary Period was the Dhammapada was written? c defines the goal of human existence in Hindu religion
a Classical Period b Vedic Period d is the predominant faith of India and of no other nation.
c Epic and Buddhist Age d Medieval and Modern Age 29. The following are the PURUSARTHAs of Hindu Religion, except
for___
19. What is Dhammapada?
a Dharma b Asramas
a most ancient layer of text in the Vedas
c Kama d moksha
b most sacred of all hindu literature
c most widely read and known Buddhist scriptures 30. Which of the is the correct order of the organization of the Hindu
d most beautiful of the Hindu scriptures society
a Vaishya, Sudra, Brahmin, Ksatriya
20. Hindu Literature comparable to the psalms in the Old Testament.
b Brahmin, Ksatriya, Vaishya, Sudra
a Bhagavad Gita b Rig Veda
c Brahmin, Vaishya, Ksatriya, Sudra
c Dhammapada d Mahabharata
d Sudra, Vaishya, Brahmin, Ksatriya
21. Dharma (codes of conduct), including the proper conduct of a 31. Indian literature that has the most important philosophical doctrine
king, of a warrior, of a man living in times of calamity, and of a on the concept of a single supreme being
person seeking to attain emancipation from rebirth, are mostly a Dhammapada b Upanishads
exposed in what Indian Literature? c Samhitas
a Dhammapada b Bhagavad Gita
32. ___ refers to the spiritual perfection in Hindu Religion
a Kama b Moksha 47. ___ is a type of narrative that uses characters and plot to depict
c Dharma d Artha abstract ideas and themes.
a Allegory b Allusion
33. Varnas, the theoretical basis for the organization of the Hindu
c Alliteration d Anaphora
society rest on ___
a one’s birth right
48. “Be my Hades, in this world full of Zeus” (–Carlota, 2019) is an
b karma of past thought and actions
example of what kind of literary technique?
c a person’s capacity and intelligence
a Aphorism b Alliteration
d the quality of contribution to society
c Allusion d Anaphora
34. This Sanskrit poet and dramatist is considered the Shakespeare
of India 49. “‘Tis better to have loved and lost/ than never to have loved at all.”
a Vyasa b Valmiki (–Alfred Lloyd Tennyson) is an example of what kind of literary
c Narayan d Kalidasa technique?
35. To what other text is the compared similar to? a Allegory b Allusion
a Letters of St. Paul b Gospel c Aphorism d Anaphora
c Psalms d Genesis
50. "The sun was like a large ball of butter"
36. According to the four noble truths of Buddha, what is the cause of a Personification b Paradox
all our suffering? c Oxymoron d Simile
a Desire b Attachment
c Moderation d Our Outlook 51. "The wall stared at me silently"
a Simile b Personification
37. Chinese literature reflects the ___ and ___ history of China and c Inference d Metonymy
the impact of powerful religions that came from within and outside
the country. 52. "If I do not eat my daily papaya, I will surely die"
a social b literary a Paradox b Personification
c political d social c Hyperbole d Metaphor
38. The following are the PURUSARTHAs of Hindu Religion, except 53. "The road was a ribbon of moonlight"
for___ a Personification b Oxymoron
a Dharma b Asramas c Metaphor d Inference
c Kama d Moksha 54. "The wise fool is burning my taco"
39. The oldest collection of Chinese poetry and is considered a model a Irony b Personification
of poetic expression and moral insight. c Oxymoron d Metaphor
a The Analects 55. “You aren’t poor, you are economically disadvantaged”
b The Parables of the Ancient Philosophers a Irony b Personification
c The Book of Songs (Shih Ching) c Euphemism d Hyperbole
d Tao Te Ching
40. What rhetorical device is used in this line from the Ramayana?
56. - 70. Analects of Confucius. Explain in not less than 3 sentences the
“Dearly, loved, devoted Sita! daughter of a royal line.”
following famous analects.
a onomatopoeia b alliteration
(3 points each)
c assonance d consonance
a “If the will be set on virtue, there will be no practice of
41. The Hindu belief that life is an illusion
a dharma b artha wickedness.”
c maya d kama
b “Riches and honor are what men desire. If it cannot be
42. During this time, the people practiced a religion based on the
belief that nature was inhabited by many powerful gods and obtained in the proper way, they should not be held. Poverty
spirits.
and meanness are what men dislike. If it cannot be obtained in
a Shang Dynasty b Chou (Zhou) Dynasty
c Ch’in Dynasty d Han Dynasty the proper way, they should not be avoided.”
43. This was the longest of all the dynasties and throughout most of c “If a man in the morning hears the right way, he may die in the
this period China suffered from severe political disunity and
upheaval. evening without regret.”
a Shang Dynasty b Chou (Zhou) Dynasty
c Ch’in Dynasty d Han Dynasty d “The cautious seldom err.”
On an Autumn Evening in the Mountains
How clear are the mountains after the new rain! e I am not concerned that I am not known, but I seek to be
The dusk of the Autumn evening is pouring in, worthy to be known.”
As moon beams filter through the pine trees.
Cool spring water flows over white stones.
Alone washing girl returns homeward by the bamboo
grove.
The boatman sails his barge through the lotus patch.
Although Spring is long gone
Why cannot I linger over this pleasant view?
44. What is the dominant imagery in this poem?
a visual b auditory
c tactile d olfactory
45. Chinese literature and all of Chinese culture has been profoundly
influenced by these great schools of thought, except: _____
a Confucianism b Taoism
c Hinduism d Buddhism
46. It is not really a religion in China but it makes individuals aware of
their place in the world and the behavior appropriate to it and it
also provides a political and social philosophy.
a Confucianism b Taoism
c Hinduism d Buddhism