National Hsin-Chu University of Education
Freshman Reading Test
The Scarlet Letter
(by Nathaniel Hawthorne)
A. Matching – Match the vocabulary word on the left with the meaning on the right.
1.
adultery
____
a. a person who controls part of a country
2.
election
____
b. a time when people vote to choose a new government
3.
governor
____
c. a talk on a religious subject, given by a priest
4.
magistrate
____
d. a very strong feeling (of love, hate, anger, etc)
5.
mercy
____
e.
sex between a married person and someone who is not their
husband or wife
6.
meteor
____
f.
a person who works as a judge in a court of law
7.
passion
____
g. a high platform where criminals are killed in public
8.
puritans
____
h. being kind and forgiving to somebody who has done wrong
9.
scaffold
____
i.
a piece of rock from outer space that burns brightly when it
hits the Earth’s air
10. sermon
____
j.
a group of Christians in the 16th and 17th centuries who
believed in living simple life with hard work and little fun
B. True or False – Read each sentence and mark it true (T) or false (F).
11. _____
12. _____
13. _____
14. _____
15. _____
16. _____
17. _____
18. _____
19. _____
20. _____
The woman who wears the scarlet letter on her bosom is a woman without
friends, a woman who has sinned.
In the 17th century of Boston, the church is strong and unforgiving.
The narrator of this story is a customs officer of Salem.
Hawthorne is considered as a minor American writer.
Hawthorne’s view of life is positive and bright.
This story was made into a film in the 1990s, starring Demi Moore; the
film version does not change the original story.
People gave Hester a lot of work because they felt sorry for her.
As time passed, some people began to think that Roger Chillingworth
was sent by the Devil, not by God.
Arthur Dimmesdale was able to stand on the scaffold at night, but he was
too afraid of public shame to do it in the daylight.
When Arthur Dimmesdale told people that he was a hateful sinner, they
believed him and talked about getting a new priest.
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C. Multiple Choice – Circle the correct answer for each question.
21. Which of the following words is suitable to describe Hester?
a. brave
b. stubborn
c. sly
22. Which of the following words is suitable to describe Pearl?
a. naughty
b. elf-like
c. quiet
23. Which of the following words is suitable to describe Roger Chillingworth?
a. compassionate
b. cold
c. wise
24. Which of the following words is suitable to describe Arthur Dimmesdale?
a. energetic
b. sharp
c. sensitive
25. What is the theme of the story?
a.
crime and punishment
b. pride and prejudice
c.
sin, knowledge, and the human condition
26. What does the town in the story stand for in the light of motif?
a. a rule-bound space
b. a place to live and work
c. the world of unknown
27. What is the purpose of locating Hester’s cottage between the town and the forest?
a. to show Hester’s poverty
b. to show Hester’s loneliness
c. to show Hester’s capability of balancing order and the wilderness
28. What is the purpose of Chillingworth’s offering Arthur Dimmesdale help?
a. to redress Arthur Dimmesdale’s wrongs
b. to destroy Arthur Dimmesdale deliberately
c. to show his respect for Arthur Dimmesdale
29. What does night in the story stand for in the light of motif?
a. socially assigned identity
b. outer appearance
c. internal states
30. Where do Hester and Chillingworth live before coming to America?
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a. Amsterdam
b. Helsinki
c. Berlin
31. In what city do Hester and Pearl live?
a. New York
b. Salem
c. Boston
32. Who is Mistress Hibbibs?
a. Dimmesdale’s mother
b. The Governor’s sister
c. Hester’s mother
33. How does Hester support herself and Pearl financially?
a. as a seamstress
b. as a nurse
c. as a farmhand
34. Why does Pearl not recognize her mother when she sees her with Dimmesdale in the forest?
a. Hester is not wearing her usual plain gray dress.
b. Hester has removed the scarlet letter.
c. Hester has removed her cap to expose her long hair.
35. How does Pearl become wealthy?
a. She marries the governor’s son.
b. She becomes a famous actress.
c. She inherits Chillingworth’s estate and marries a nobleman.
36. What is located by the door of the prison in which Hester is kept?
a. a rosebush
b. a graveyard
c. a pine tree
37. Why does Hester choose to return to New England?
a. She is tired of life in London.
b. She cannot stand to live with Pearl and her husband any more.
c. Her life is in New England.
38. What is the narrator’s attitude toward Hester?
a. He just tells us about her story without having any special feeling for her.
b. He secretly admires her independence and her ideas.
c. He despises her.
D. Put the parts of sentences in the right order (in your answer just write the numbers in
the right order) – The following is how one of the townspeople described Arthur
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Dimmesdale’s last moments.
Yes, I was there, quite close to Mr. Dimmesdale
39. He stood there in front of the crowd and cried out
40. but he pushed the doctor away
41. because almost at once the priest fell to the ground.
42. and climed up onto the scaffold with Mistress Prynne and the child.
43. to see the great, scarlet letter ‘A’ on his chest.
44. After little Pearl had kissed him,
45. when he stopped next to the scaffold
46. that he was as great a sinner as Hester Prynne.
47. and then he died in Mistress Prynne’s arms.
48. Finally, he pulled open his shirt for us
49. The old doctor hurried up to him and caught his arm,
50. he thanked God for his mercy,
____________________________________________________________
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National Hsin-Chu University of Education
Freshman Reading Test (Answer sheet)
The Scarlet Letter (by Nathaniel Hawthorne)
___ ___
Class/
Name/ ________ ___
Student number/ __ ______
Part A.
1
e
2
b
3
a
4
f
5
h
6
i
7
d
8
j
9
g
10
c
Part B.
11
T
12
T
13
T
14
F
15
F
16
F
17
F
18
T
19
T
20
F
Part C
21
a
22
b
23
b
24
c
25
c
26
a
27
c
28
b
29
c
30
a
31
c
32
b
33
a
34
b
35
c
36
a
37
c
38
b
Part D.
45＿→＿42＿→＿39＿→＿46＿→＿48＿→＿43＿→
＿49＿→＿40＿→＿41＿→＿44＿→＿50＿→＿47＿
＿
(Two scores for one question)
Score:
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