Reading Comprehension
Session 1
The Canterbury Tales were written by Geoffrey Chaucer in 14th century England. The General
Prologue of these tales introduced the reader to 30 “pilgrims” on a religious journey to the town
of Canterbury. This excerpt from The Canterbury Tales introduces the reader to three
characters – the miller, the manciple, and the reeve. Read the excerpt below and answer the
questions that follow.
from The Canterbury Tales
by Geoffrey Chaucer
The Miller was a chap of sixteen stone,
A great stout fellow big in brawn and bone.
He did well out of them, for he could go
And win the ram at any wrestling show.
Broad, knotty and short-shouldered, he would boast
He could heave any door off hinge and post,
Or take a run and break it with his head.
His beard, like any sow or fox, was red
And broad as well, as though it were a spade;
And, at its very tip, his nose displayed
A wart on which there stood a tuft of hair
Red as the bristles in an old sow’s ear.
He had a sword and buckler at his side,
His mighty mouth was like a furnace door.
A wrangler and buffoon, he had a store
Of tavern stories, filthy in the main.
He was a master-hand at stealing grain.
He felt it with his thumb and thus he knew
Its quality and took three times his due –
A thumb of gold, by God, to gauge an oat!
He wore a hood of blue and a white coat.
He liked to play his bagpipes up and down
And that was how he brought us out of town.
The Manciple came from the Inner Temple;
All caterers might follow his example
In buying victuals; he was never rash
Whether he bought on credit or paid cash.
He used to watch the market most precisely
And got in first, and so he did quite nicely.
Now isn’t it a marvel of God’s grace
That an illiterate fellow can outpace
The wisdom of a heap of learned men?
His masters – he had more than thirty then –
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Reading Comprehension
Session 1
All versed in the abstrusest legal knowledge,
Could have produced a dozen from their College
Fit to be stewards in land and rents and game
To any Peer in England you could name,
And show him how to live on what he had
Debt-free (unless of course the Peer were mad)
Or be as frugal as he might desire,
And make them fit to help about the Shire
In any legal case there was to try;
And yet this Manciple could wipe their eye.
The Reeve was old and choleric and then;
His beard was shaven closely to the skin,
His shorn hair came abruptly to stop
Above his ears, and he was docked on top
Just like a priest in front; his legs were lean,
Like sticks they were, no calf was to be seen.
He kept his bins and garners very trim;
No auditor could gain a point on him.
And he could judge by watching drought and rain
The yield he might expect from seed and grain.
His master’s sheep, his animals and hens,
Pigs, horses, dairies, stores and cattle-pens
Were wholly trusted to his government.
And he was under contract to present
The accounts, right from his master’s earliest years.
No one had ever caught him in arrears.
No bailiff, serf or herdsman dared to kick,
He knew their dodges, knew their every trick;
Feared like the plague he was, by those beneath.
He had a lovely dwelling on a heath,
Shadowed in green by trees above the sward.
A better hand at bargains than his lord,
He had grown rich and had a store of treasure
Well tucked away, yet out it came to pleasure
His lord with subtle loans or gifts of goods,
To earn his thanks and even coats and hoods.
When young he’d learnt a useful trade and still
He was a carpenter of first-rate skill.
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Copyright 1399, Wife of Bath Publishing, Bath, England.
Just kidding…Public domain.
Reading Comprehension
1 If a stone is a unit of measurement in
England and the Miller is a chap of “sixteen
stone,” what is a reasonable estimate of how
many pounds a stone might represent?
A. 1.4
B. 14
C. 140
D. 1400
2 Which of the following most nearly means
the same as the word buckler in line 13?
A. Carpenter
B. Food
C. Shield
D. Horse
3 In the following phrase from line 7, what
part of speech is the word “run”?
Or take a run at it and break it with his head.
A.
B.
C.
D.
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Preposition
4 In the following phrase from line 14, which
of the following literary devices is being
employed?
His mighty mouth was like a furnace door.
A.
B.
C.
D.
Metonymy
Personification
Assonance
Simile
Session 1
5 The word victual is derived from the Latin
word victualia, which is derived, in part,
from the word for “life.” Chaucer’s
description says that “all caterers” may
follow the example of the manciple in
buying victuals. Which of the following
most nearly means the same as the word
victuals in line 26?
A. Stocks
B. Horses
C. Provisions
D. Books
6 What is the only “flaw” of the manciple?
A. He is rude.
B. He cannot read.
C. He is dishonest.
D. He cannot swim.
7 The tone of the author’s description of the
manciple can best be characterized as one
of…
A. Admiration
B. Skepticism
C. Neutrality
D. Piety
8 Where does the manciple work?
A. At a fair
B. At a school
C. At a factory
D. At a farm
9 The reeve is described as choleric. Given
the description of his personality, what does
this word most nearly mean?
A. Nice and helpful
B. Friendly and amiable
C. Grumpy and temperamental
D. Mysterious and enigmatic
Reading Comprehension
10 What would best characterize the way
other characters react to the reeve?
A. They are eager to be his friend.
B. They want to hurt him.
C. They enjoy socializing with him.
D. They fear him.
11 One component of the reeve’s job is that he
is a…
A. Weaver
B. Dyer
C. Carpenter
D. Plumber
12 What contrast would best define the
difference between the reeve and the
manciple?
A. The reeve is grumpy, while the manciple
is accomplished.
B. The reeve is accomplished, while the
manciple is grumpy.
C. The manciple is educated, while the
reeve is not.
D. The manciple works hard, while the
reeve is lazy.
Session 1
Reading Comprehension
Session 1
Question 13 is an open-response question.
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Read the question carefully.
Explain your answer.
Add supporting details.
Double-check your work.
Write your answer to question 13 in the space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.
13 Based on the excerpt, explain the job of the reeve in Medieval times. Use relevant and specific
information from the excerpt to support your answer.
Reading Comprehension
Session 1
In his book Who Murdered Chaucer, Terry Jones argues that Chaucer’s controversial writings
may have cost him his life. In this excerpt, Jones discusses the practice of reading aloud in
Chaucer’s time. Read the excerpt below and answer the questions that follow.
from Who Murdered Chaucer?
by Terry Jones
THROUGH THE LONG HOURS OF WINTER DARKNESS, reading aloud was an integral
part of court life. It was also the accompaniment to many a meal…The Latin verb legere, which
meant ‘to read’, could also be used as a synonym for dicere, ‘to say’: silent reading was the
exception, rather than the norm, in Chaucer’s time…Even amongst ordinary folk, it seems to
have been expected that there would be someone to read aloud to the others.
In the court, the choice of reader was obviously a crucial matter. It appears to have
crossed boundaries of class and vocation…Sometimes the reader would be a beautiful demoiselle
of the court or a handsome young man. A dull book presumably seemed less dull when read
aloud by someone of youth and beauty.
But in the fourteenth century, as far as in-court entertainment went, the author-performer
was king. It’s not hard to imagine the excitement that would be generated in a court where the
author was about to read from his own work.
Then again, an author-reading might well herald the ‘premiere’ of a new work –
something entirely original that no one had ever heard before. The anticipation would have been
on a different level from that generated by a well-worn romance recited, for the umpteenth time,
by a professional minstrel.
This anticipation may have been all the keener for the fact that the fourteenth-century
author-performers almost invariably wrote in the vernacular. In other words, the court would be
gathered to hear brand-new works in their own language.
And here perhaps it is worth pointing out that reading aloud was a matter of both habit
and choice. It was not a halfway stage between the oral tradition of remembered poetry and the
modern habit of silent reading. Reading aloud in a group was seen as the natural and preferred
medium for the book. People chose to listen in a group for the same reason that nowadays
people may prefer to watch a film in the cinema rather than watch a video at home. It is a totally
different experience – particularly with a performance that requires some audience participation,
such as comedy. The communal experience was seen as superior to the solitary one.
As one scholar puts it: ‘the normal thing to do with a written literary text…was to
perform it…Reading was a kind of performance. Even the solitary reader most often read
aloud…and most reading was not solitary.’
Real reading – for the majority of people – meant the celebration of a book by its being
read aloud in public. In a way it was a simple question of good manners – at a time when books
were scarce it would have seemed extraordinarily selfish to devour the contents of one all alone
by yourself.
Copyright 2004, Thomas Dunne books.
Reading Comprehension
Session 1
14 The fact that the Latin verb legere (“to read”) could be exchanged with the verb dicere (“to
say”) suggests…
A. That people in Chaucer’s time did not know how to read.
B. That people in Chaucer’s time had fewer words than we do today.
C. That people in Chaucer’s time were averse to reading.
D. That people in Chaucer’s time considered reading aloud to be natural.
15 Which of the following most nearly means the same as the word demoiselle in paragraph 2?
A. Young man
B. Young woman
C. Young reader
D. Young citizen
16 Why was it important that attractive people read aloud in Chaucer’s time?
A. His culture hated ugliness.
B. His culture valued aesthetics.
C. His culture presumed that a boring book was less boring when read by someone
beautiful.
D. His culture presumed that beautiful people were closer to God.
17 Considering the author compares reading a book aloud to attending the cinema, with which
of the following comments would he most likely agree?
A. Reading should be enjoyed communally.
B. Reading should be enjoyed while eating popcorn.
C. Reading is designed to be an individual pursuit.
D. Reading should feature sneak previews.
Reading Comprehension
Session 1
Question 18 is an open-response question.
 Read the question carefully.
 Explain your answer.
 Add supporting details.
 Double-check your work.
Write your answer to question 18 in the space provided in your Student Answer booklet.
18 Based on the excerpt, explain the differences between reading in our time and reading in
Chaucer’s time. Use relevant and specific information from the excerpt to support your
answer.
You have completed session 1. Do not go on to session 2. Do not pass go. Do not collect $300.