Literature and Culture of the English-Speaking Countries

Exam (Masters) Duration: 80 minutes

Student’s name: Ivan Tonkov

Total points: 55
I Children’s literature
1. Mark the correct answer by using bold. Each correct answer equals 1 point.
1. Children’s literature is:
a. written only by children.
b. written exclusively about children.
c. written mainly for children.
2. The origins of Children’s literature in America can be traced to:
a. Columbus.
b. the Puritans.
c. The Civil War.
3. The classic fable 
a. teaches a specific lesson (moral).
b. refuses to be moralistic.
c. is about animals who are doctors.
4. In the fable the main characters are:
a. usually teachers.
b. animals representing human types.
c. humans who are not teachers.
5. Fairy tales differ from the classic fables in that:
a. they feature people and fairy creatures such as goblins, trolls, fairies, etc.
b. they never have animals that speak like humans.
c. they were written by anonymous authors.
6. When asked about where he lives Peter Pan provides the following:
a. 115, Studentska Str, Shumen.
b. W2 2UH, Kensington Gardens, London.
c. Second to the right and then straight on till morning.
7. The Wizard of Oz actually is
a. a terrible wizard who can cast transforming spells.
b. an ordinary person who once worked in a circus.
c. an ex-politician who is hiding from the law for unpaid taxes.
8. The line “two is the beginning of the end” from Peter Pan refers to:
a. growing up with all the responsibilities that come with it.
b. counting to ten where 2 is the first number and 12 the last.
c. the second wagon of a long train.
9. The Scarecrow from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz needs:
a. a heart.
b. a brain.
c. a spleen.
10. Tin Woodman from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is:
a. made of tin because he lost all parts of his once human body.
b. made of wood for the amusement of the children.
c. made of flesh – this is just a nickname which means nothing.
2. Identify the literary source and its author. Each correct answer equals 2 points.
11. “All children, except one, grow up”
Peter Pan - J.M. Barrie…………………………………….
12. “What disobedient children!” cried the old Water-rat; “they really deserve to be drowned.”  
The Devoted Friend - Oscar Wilde………………………….
12. “Shall I love you?” said the Swallow, who liked to come to the point at once, and the Reed
made him a low bow. So he flew round and round her, touching the water with his wings, and making
silver ripples. This was his courtship and it lasted all through the summer.” The Happy Prince
by Oscar Wilde ………………………………………
12. “It was seven o'clock of a very warm evening in the Seeonee hills when Father Wolf woke up
from his day's rest, scratched himself, yawned, and spread out his paws one after the other to get rid of
the sleepy feeling in the tips.” The Jungle Book By Rudyard
Kipling……………………………………….
12. “Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly
normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you’d expect to be involved in anything
strange or mysterious, because they just didn’t hold with such nonsense.”
Harry Potter  and the Philosopher’s Stone by
J.K.Rowling……………………………………….
12. Dorothy lived in the midst of the great Kansas prairies, with Uncle Henry, who was a farmer,
and Aunt Em, who was the farmer’s wife. Their house was small, for the lumber to build it had to be
carried by wagon many miles.  …The Wonderful wizard of Oz by L.Frank
Baum…………………………………….
12. “In the beginning, when the world was new and the Animals were just beginning to work for
Man, there was a Camel, and he lived in the middle of a Howling Desert because he did not want to
work. He ate sticks and thorns and prickles, and when anybody spoke to him, he said “Humph!” Just
“Humph!” and no more.” Just So Stories-How the whale got his throat by Rudyard Kipling Just
so stories……………………………………….
12. “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends
of worms and an oozy smell, not yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat:
it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.” The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
……………………………………….
12. “’Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats?’ and sometimes ‘Do bats eat cats?’, for, you see, as she
couldn’t answer either question, it didn’t much matter which way she put it. She felt that she was
dozing off, and had just begun to dream that she was walking hand in hand with Dinah, and was
saying to hear, very earnestly, ‘Now, Dinah, tell me the truth: did you ever eat a bat?’” Alices
Adventures in Wonderland b y Lewis Carrol…………….
12. “You don’t know about me without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of
Tom Sawyer; but that ain’t no matter. That book was made by Mr. Mark Twain, and he told the truth,
mainly. There was things which he stretched, but mainly he told the truth.” The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain……………………………………….
3. Provide a brief answer to the following open question:
Do you agree or disagree with Jaqueline Rose’s contention that “children’s literature
is necessarily an adult fantasy of how they would wish childhood to be, artfully
designed to seduce children into compliance”? Provide relevant examples to support
your argument (250 – 300 words) (20 points)
Do you agree or disagree with Jaqueline Rose’s contention that “children’s literature is
necessarily an adult fantasy of how they would wish childhood to be, artfully designed to seduce
children into compliance”? Provide relevant examples to support your argument.

Generally it is a very complicated question. I support Jaqueline Rose’s

contention that children’s literature is necessarily adult fantasy  …. “In my
opinion every adult keeps some childish in his heart, and adult people can
afford better phrases to express what they think. The connection between adult
human and their own children has been long acknowledged, as one of the most
important for growing up.

First of all, 

II Culture
1. Mark the correct answer by using bold. Each correct answer equals 1 point.

1. The British Commonwealth includes the following countries:

a. Australia, New Zealand, India, Canada, and Pakistan. 
b. The USA, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
c. South Africa, Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia.
2. Fish and chips is a national dish for which country?
a. The USA
b. Britain
c. India
3. Cardiff is the capital of which country?
a. Scotland
b. Wales
c. Northern Ireland
4. The Land of Dragons refers to which country?
a. England
b. Ireland
c. Wales
5. The IRA was operational in which country?
a. Scotland
b. Ireland
c. Northern Ireland