"Speech to Parliament", "A Song: Men of England," "On the Passing of the Reform Bill," Help?

1. In Byron’s “Speech to Parliament,” he tries to convince Parliament not to

severely punish the weavers for an action they have taken. What did they do?

A. The workers went on strike.

B. The workers destroyed their looms.

C. The workers rioted in the streets.

D. The workers refused to work overtime.

2. According to Byron in “Speech to Parliament,” what punishment is Parliament

considering for the weavers’ crimes?

A. loss of jobs

B. imprisonment

C. death

D. high fines

3. Which of the following would be an ineffective purpose for reading “Speech to

Parliament”?

A. to learn about British class divisions

B. to decide how Byron appeals to the hearts of his listeners

C. to discover what kinds of persuasive devices Byron uses

D. to analyze Byron’s poetic techniques

4. What argument does Byron make in his “Speech to Parliament” to persuade

members of Parliament that the actions they are considering are too harsh?

A. Serious crimes are committed by people much better off than the weavers.

B. The weavers could have committed far more destructive crimes.

C. The weavers have already lost their jobs, so there is no point in punishing

them more.

D. No one was hurt by the weavers’ actions, so they should not be considered

criminals.

5. Which choice best describes this line from Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “A Song: ‘Men

of England’”?

Men of England, wherefore plough

For the lords who lay ye low?

A. balanced clauses

B. rhetorical question

C. evidence

D. assumption

6. Which of the following would be the least effective purpose for reading “A Song:

‘Men of England’”?

A. to analyze Shelley’s use of poetic devices

B. to learn the conditions of workers in early nineteenth-century England

C. to study the history of production technology in the textile industry

D. to learn more about Shelley and his attitudes and philosophy

7. What attitude does Shelley express in “A Song: ‘Men of England’” toward working

conditions in England?

A. bitter

B. hopeful

C. humorous

D. forgiving

8. What is the biggest difference between the audiences for Macaulay’s “On the

Passing of the Reform Bill” and Byron’s “Speech to Parliament”?

A. Macaulay’s audience is known to him, whereas Byron’s audience is not.

B. Macaulay’s audience is better educated than Byron’s.

C. Macaulay’s audience disagrees with him, but Byron’s supports his cause.

D. Macaulay has an audience of one person, while Byron speaks to many.

9. Which vocabulary word best completes this sentence?

In spite of the to passing the Reform Bill, Parliament finally approved it in

1832.

A. impediments

B. decimation

C. emancipation

D. balm

10. Which word means the opposite of efficacious, as it is used in this sentence?

Delaying the vote was efficacious because it allowed members of Parliament to

learn what the people in their districts thought about the bill.

A. inefficient

B. unreasonable

C. useless

D. critical

11. Which line from “Speech to Parliament” contains correlative conjunctions?

A. “I have traversed the seat of war in the Peninsula; I have been in some of the

most oppressed provinces of Turkey. . . .”

B. “These men were willing to dig, but the spade was in other hands. . . .”

C. “After feeling the pulse and shaking the head over the patient . . . these convulsions

must terminate in death. . . .”

D. “. . . we are told that these men are leagued together, not only for the

destruction of their own comfort, but of their very means of subsistence. . . .”