OXFORD BOOKWORMS
Stage 4
The Scarlet Letter
1 Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?
a ___ Hester was married when Pearl was
born.
b ___ Chillingworth was Pearl’s father.
c ___ The usual punishment for adultery was
death.
d ___ Hester was in prison for five years.
e ___ People wanted their children to play
with Pearl.
f ___ Hester and Dimmesdale arranged to
leave Boston on an English ship.
g ___ Everybody saw a scarlet letter on
Dimmesdale’s chest.
h ___ Chillingworth died a few months after
Dimmesdale.
i ___ Hester never returned to Boston.
j ___ Pearl never returned to Boston.
20 marks
2 Who said this? Who did they say it to?
Chillingworth, Dimmesdale, Pearl,
Hester, Mr Wilson.
a ‘I will not speak his name. My child must find
a father in heaven.’
……………….. to ………………..
b ‘I have greatly wronged you.’
……………….. to ………………..
c ‘Can you tell me who made you?’
……………….. to ………………..
d ‘You were a good person, and you needed a
better love than mine.’
……………….. to ………………..
e ‘Is there nothing beyond this little town?’
……………….. to ………………..
20 marks
3 Who said this? The captain,
Chillingworth, Dimmesdale, Pearl,
Hester.
a ‘The forest cannot hide it, but the sea will
drown it.’ ………………..
b ‘Will he always keep his hand over his
heart?’ ………………..
c ‘So, mistress, another one to join you!’
………………..
d ‘Look! Look! See for yourselves!’
………………..
e ‘You have escaped me!’ ………………..
10 marks
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COMPREHENSION TEST
4 Who in the story …? Chillingworth,
Dimmesdale, Mistress Hibbins, Pearl,
Hester.
a was a prisoner of wild men ………………..
b asked Hester to keep a secret
………………..
c had beautiful clothes ………………..
d was killed because she was a friend of the
devil ………………..
e collected plants ………………..
f threw water at the Governor ………………..
g was always ready to help people in trouble
………………..
h was not loved by the sunshine
………………..
i gave the Election Sermon ………………..
j died because he could not have revenge
………………..
20 marks
5 Fill in the gaps. Use these words: bosom,
clothes, cottage, fashion, gold, Governor,
judges, kindness, needle, needlework,
Puritans, sea, sewing, shame, sinned.
Hester went to live in a ……………. outside the
town and near the …………………. . She was
good with a ……………., and her beautiful
………………………, often using
………………….. and silver, soon became the
…………………. in Boston. Even the
………………….. wore her ………………..on his
shirts. She also made ……………… for poor
people. But although she worked for them, the
……………… of the town were hard ……………..
and they showed no ………………….. to her
because she had ………………………. . She
lived in ………………… and misery, with the
scarlet letter bright on her ………………… .
30 marks
Total marks
OXFORD BOOKWORMS MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST
Stage 4
The Scarlet Letter

SETTING 8 Hester would not tell people the name

of _____.
Choose the best answer. a  the father of her child
1 The writer found the scarlet letter in _____. b  her husband
a  the graveyard c  her child
b  an old box d  her priest
c  on a ship
9 Hester was released from the prison
d  in the cottage
in _____.
2 The letter had patterns of _____ thread a  New York
around it. b  Salem
a  silver c  Boston
b  yellow d  England
c  red
10 When Hester was released from prison she
d  gold
lived _____.
3 When the writer held the letter to his chest a  in the centre of town
he felt _____. b  with Governor Bellingham
a  burning heat c  in a big house
b  a child’s soft face d  in a small cottage
c  a happy person
20 marks
d  very sad
4 The story is set in the mid-_____ century.
CHARACTERS
a  eighteenth
b  seventeenth Choose the best answer.
c  sixteenth 11 Hester was tall and perfectly shaped
d  nineteenth with _____.
5 When they saw the scarlet letter the women a  long blonde hair
thought that Hester was _____. b  short dark hair
a  frightened of prison c  long dark hair
b  clever with her needle d  short blond hair
c  like a lady 12 Hester had married _____.
d  sad a  a much older man
6 Hester had been the wife of _____. b  a friend
a  an Englishman c  a younger man
b  an Indian d  a man the same age
c  a magistrate 13 Hester had to wear the scarlet A for _____.
d  a prisoner a  three hours
7 She had lived in _____ with her husband b  three years
before she came to New England. c  three days
a  Amsterdam d  the rest of her life
b  London 14 Mr Dimmesdale was a priest who
c  Massachusetts was _____.
d  Salem a  shy and sensitive
b  young and happy
c  old and sad
d  old and happy

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OXFORD BOOKWORMS MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST
Stage 4
The Scarlet Letter

15 Hester’s daughter Pearl was not allowed 22 ‘I will keep your secret, as I have kept his,’
to _____. a  Roger Chillingworth
a  wear red clothes b  Mr Wilson
b  see her mother c  Arthur Dimmesdale
c  play with other children d  Hester
d  talk to other people
23 ‘Are you the right person to teach this child
16 Roger Chillingworth was well known in the ways of God…?’
town _____. a  Arthur Dimmesdale
a  for helping the church b  Roger Chillingworth
b  for being unhappy c  Mr Wilson
c  because he was Hester’s husband d  Governor Bellingham
d  for his knowledge of medicines
24 ‘Listen to me, child. Can you tell me who
17 Pearl was a child _____. made you?’
a  of many moods a  Hester
b  with lots of friends b  Mr Wilson
c  who was always happy c  Governor Bellingham
d  who slept a lot d  Arthur Dimmesdale
18 Governor Bellingham wanted to take _____ 25 ‘Tell me, doctor, is my health any better
away from Hester. since you began to take care of this poor,
a  the scarlet letter weak body of mine?’
b  the cottage a  Arthur Dimmesdale
c  Pearl b  Hester
d  the priest c  Roger Chillingworth
d  Mr Wilson
19 Roger Chillingworth was the _____ of Arthur
Dimmesdale. 26 ‘Come up here, Hester, you and little Pearl.’
a  brother a  Roger Chillingworth
b  medical adviser b  Mr Wilson
c  prisoner c  Arthur Dimmesdale
d  father d  Governor Bellingham
20 Mistress Hibbins was the _____ of Governor 27 ‘You would not promise to hold my hand,
Bellingham. and my mother’s hand, here tomorrow.’
a  sister a  Hester
b  daughter b  Pearl
c  wife c  Arthur Dimmesdale
d  mother d  Governor Bellingham
20 marks 28 ‘I am sorry for you. You were a good person,
and you needed a better love than mine.’
DIALOGUE a  Arthur Dimmesdale
b  Hester
Who said this? c  Pearl
21 ‘I will not speak his name.’ d  Roger Chillingworth
a  Hester 29 ‘Oh, Hester, God has been merciful! This is
b  Mr Wilson already a better life.’
c  Arthur Dimmesdale a  Arthur Dimmesdale
d  the stranger b  Roger Chillingworth
c  Pearl
d  Governor Bellingham

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OXFORD BOOKWORMS MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST
Stage 4
The Scarlet Letter

30 ‘We will have a home of our own, and you 37 to feel pain or great sadness
will sit on his knee and he will teach you a  sin
many things, and love you dearly.’ b  soul
a  Roger Chillingworth c  suffer
b  Arthur Dimmesdale d  shame
c  Hester
38 somebody you work with or have a
d  Mr Wilson
relationship with
20 marks a  priest
b  public
VOCABULARY c  Puritans
d  partner
Choose the best answer.
39 to stop feeling angry with someone who has
31 a person who works as a judge in a court done something to harm or annoy you
of law a  forgive
a  Governor b  innocent
b  magistrate c  joy
c  Master d  respect
d  priest
40 to have a very good opinion of someone
32 a high platform where criminals are killed a  nervous
in public b  respect
a  scaffold c  mercy
b  passion d  mood
c  mercy
20 marks
d  sin
33 having done nothing wrong
PLOT
a  guilty
b  innocent Choose the best answer.
c  evil
41 The women in the town thought that
d  wise
Hester _____.
34 a long, thin piece of cotton, used with a a  was good
needle for sewing b  was clever
a  thread c  ought to die
b  balcony d  should go to England
c  magic
42 Hester made little _____ for the babies of
d  cheek
the town.
35 having done something that is against a  socks and shoes
the law b  coats and hats
a  heaven c  tops and trousers
b  devil d  scarlet letters
c  guilty
43 Roger Chillingworth asked Hester to keep
d  magic
his _____.
36 being kind and forgiving to someone who a  secret
has done something wrong b  house
a  pray c  books
b  shame d  money
c  respect
d  mercy

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