English Quotes & Phrases Cultural Literacy Test
1. If you “bury the hatchet,” you
a. ignore an insult
b. spend too much money
c. hide the evidence of a crime
d. make peace
2. When you claim that “the road to hell is paved with good intentions,” what do you mean?
a. Good intentions do not guarantee a good deed.
b. Good men as well as bad go to hell.
c. Sin can mask itself as good.
d. The devil tempts us to forget our good intentions.
3. When someone works or plays too hard, you say he or she
a. makes hay while the sun shines
b. takes the bitter with the sweet
c. burns the candle at both ends
d. can’t make a silk purse out of sow’s ear
4. What does “an eye for an eye” mean?
a. An act of violence should be punished with equal violence.
b. Sight is the most precious of man’s senses.
c. People must strive to look at life in the same way.
d. Any part of you that is not pleasing in God’s eyes should be struck off.
5. Those who “separate the wheat from the chaff”
a. use advanced methods in farming
b. separate people by race or religion
c. pick the winners in horse races
d. decide what is important or valuable
6. The incident or thing that finally causes you to lose control is
a. “the lunatic fringe”
b. “the last straw”
c. “the most unkindest cut of all”
d. “Pandora’s box”
7. Who are hoi polloi?
a. the news media
b. the common masses
c. the aristocracy
d. royalty
8. Who originally advised men to “turn the other cheek”?
a. Moses
b. Jesus
c. Mahatma Gandhi
d. Martin Luther King, Jr.
9. Who said, “Give me liberty or give me death,” and under what circumstances?
a. Patrick Henry, addressing the Virginia Convention
b. Nathan Hale, before his execution for spying
c. George Washington, addressing troops at Valley Forge
d. Thomas Jefferson, after the reading of the Declaration of Independence
10. What is “the American Dream”?
a. returning to the land of one’s ancestors
b. spreading democracy throughout the world
c. being the first country to put a station in space
d. the possibility of bettering oneself through individual enterprise
11. People who injure themselves trying to wreak revenge on another are said to…
a. grin like a Cheshire cat
b. be guilty by association
c. speak softly and carry a big stick
d. cut off their noses to spite their faces
12. Who is the “Grim Reaper”?
a. Jesus
b. Death
c. Satan
d. God
13. The phrase “Fourscore and seven years ago” is the opening to what speech?
a. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s address to Congress asking for a declaration of war
b. Winston Churchill’s “Blood, Sweat, and Tears” speech
c. Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address
d. King Edward VIII’s abdication speech
14. What is a “vicious circle”?
a. the symbol of something precious and valuable
b. a chain of events in which the solution to a problem creates a worse problem
c. the solution to a problem found in one brilliant move
d. a spectacular display made without effort
15. A person who is warned, “Caveat emptor!” should be aware that…
a. there is a vicious dog on the premises
b. he or she should seize the opportunity to enjoy life
c. the goods or services purchased are not guaranteed by the seller
d. he or she should be careful of what is said and to whom
16. Which English poet claimed that “no man is an island”?
a. John Donne, in “Devotions upon Emergent Occasions”
b. William Shakespeare, in Sonnet 97
c. Andrew Marvell, in “A Dialogue between the Soul and Body”
d. John Milton, in “How Soon Hath Time”
17. What is the difference between the abbreviations “e.g.” and “i.e.”?
a. After using e.g. you quote; after using i.e. you paraphrase.
b. E.g. refers to years before Christ’s birth; i.e. refers to years after Christ’s birth.
c. E.g. is used in footnotes; i.e. is used in bibliographies.
d. After using e.g. you list examples; after using i.e. you explain or expand.
18. When you see the “handwriting on the wall”, you…
a. are the means of your own defeat
b. are warned of your approaching ruin or defeat
c. leave potential problems undisturbed
d. ignore an act of vandalism or violence
19. If you are convicted of a crime “in absentia”, you
a. were sick at the time of the conviction
b. were innocent of the crime
c. were not present at the conviction
d. fought against the conviction
20. When you are advised not to “look a gift horse in the mouth,” you…
a. take what is offered with gratitude and without question
b. try to brighten a gloomy situation
c. acknowledge the positive features of someone you dislike
d. leave troublesome issues undisturbed
21. Who advised Americans to “ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country”?
a. Franklin D. Roosevelt
b. John F. Kennedy
c. Martin Luther King, Jr.
d. Ronald Reagan
22. What is a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” doing?
a. pretending to love animals
b. masking ill will with an outward show of good nature
c. showing a liking for parties and fun
d. running away from danger
23. If you “play the devil’s advocate,” what are you doing?
a. finding fault with an idea or person supported by someone else
b. going along with the crowd
c. arguing against organized religion
d. blaming someone for the wrongdoing of others
24. A man with “a chip on his shoulder” is
a. confused about a situation
b. suffering from a crippling disease
c. entirely with hope
d. angry for no apparent reason and ready to fight
25. If a family has a nasty secret that they keep hidden, you say they
a. are on the horns of a dilemma
b. are riding for a fall
c. have a skeleton in their closet
d. have a fly in the ointment
KEY:
1. d; 2. a; 3. c; 4. a; 5. d; 6. b; 7. b; 8. b; 9. b; 10. d; 11. d; 12. b; 13. c; 14. b; 15. c 16. a; 17. d; 18. b; 19. c; 20. a; 21. b; 22. b; 23. a; 24. d; 25. c
SCORING KEY:
80–100% – Excellent
65–80% – Fair
Below 65% – Weak
You could use some improvement.