22 multiple-choice (MCQ / objective) questions from this chapter, in the common exam-style shapes. Every question comes with an explanation along with the answer, so you remember why the option is correct, not just which one it is.
1 Direct Questions
Direct Questions
- 1 markWhose introduction is the Part I extract of this chapter taken from?
(A) David Lodge(B) Christopher Silvester(C) Umberto Eco(D) Mukund Padmanabhan - 1 markWho, after calling interviewing ‘the interviewing ordeal,’ later interviewed Joseph Stalin himself?
(A) H. G. Wells(B) Saul Bellow(C) Lewis Carroll(D) Denis Brian - 1 markAt which university was Umberto Eco a professor?
(A) University of Rome(B) University of Milan(C) University of Bologna(D) University of Florence - 1 markAt what age did Umberto Eco decide scholarly books should be written by ‘telling the story of the research’?
(A) 22(B) 30(C) 50(D) 18 - 1 markHow many scholarly (non-fiction) works had Eco written by the time of the interview, in his own words?
(A) Over 40(B) Exactly 20(C) Under 20(D) Exactly 40
2 Match the Following
Match the Following
- 1 markMatch the writer (Column A) with what is said of them in the essay (Column B).
Column A: (1) V. S. Naipaul (2) Lewis Carroll (3) Rudyard Kipling (4) Saul Bellow
Column B: (i) ‘A just horror of the interviewer’ (ii) ‘Thumbprints on his windpipe’ (iii) Feels interviews wound people (iv) Called it ‘a crime’
(A) 1-i, 2-iii, 3-ii, 4-iv(B) 1-iii, 2-i, 3-iv, 4-ii(C) 1-iv, 2-ii, 3-i, 4-iii(D) 1-ii, 2-iv, 3-iii, 4-i - 1 markMatch the term (Column A) to its correct definition (Column B).
Column A: (1) Linker (2) Signaller (3) Semiotics (4) Interstices
Column B: (i) The study of signs (ii) Small empty spaces in a day (iii) Connects an utterance to what came before (iv) Prepares the listener for a topic shift
(A) 1-i, 2-ii, 3-iii, 4-iv(B) 1-ii, 2-iii, 3-iv, 4-i(C) 1-iv, 2-i, 3-ii, 4-iii(D) 1-iii, 2-iv, 3-i, 4-ii - 1 markMatch the figure (Column A) with the detail linked to them (Column B).
Column A: (1) H. G. Wells (2) David Lodge (3) Denis Brian (4) Umberto Eco
Column B: (i) Published The Name of the Rose in 1980 (ii) Later interviewed Joseph Stalin (iii) Once remarked on how one man can do all the things Eco does (iv) Gave the closing view on the interviewer’s power
(A) 1-iv, 2-i, 3-ii, 4-iii(B) 1-iii, 2-iv, 3-i, 4-ii(C) 1-i, 2-ii, 3-iii, 4-iv(D) 1-ii, 2-iii, 3-iv, 4-i
3 Statement-Based Questions
Statement-Based Questions
- 1 markConsider these statements about Part I of the chapter:
(i) Almost everybody literate has read an interview at some point.
(ii) All celebrities enjoy being interviewed.
(iii) Some people call the interview, in its highest form, a source of truth.
Which statements are correct?
(A) (ii) only(B) (i) and (iii) only(C) (i), (ii) and (iii)(D) (iii) only - 1 markConsider these statements about the essay’s named writers:
(i) Kipling had himself interviewed Mark Twain.
(ii) Wells never gave an interview in his life.
(iii) Bellow consented to be interviewed on several occasions.
Which statements are correct?
(A) (ii) and (iii) only(B) (ii) only(C) (i), (ii) and (iii)(D) (i) and (iii) only - 1 markConsider these statements about interstices:
(i) Eco uses the term ‘interstices’ for small empty spaces in a day.
(ii) His example is writing an article while waiting for a lift.
(iii) He says most interstices should be left completely unused.
Which statements are correct?
(A) (iii) only(B) (i) and (ii) only(C) (ii) and (iii) only(D) (i), (ii) and (iii) - 1 markConsider these statements about The Name of the Rose’s success:
(i) Eco’s American publisher expected sales of only 3,000 copies.
(ii) The novel eventually sold two to three million copies in the US.
(iii) Eco confidently explains exactly why the novel succeeded.
Which statements are correct?
(A) (i), (ii) and (iii)(B) (iii) only(C) (i) and (iii) only(D) (i) and (ii) only
4 Arrange in the Correct Order
Arrange in the Correct Order
- 1 markArrange these events from Umberto Eco’s life in the correct order:
(i) Publishes The Name of the Rose (1980)
(ii) Understands, at 22, that scholarly books should tell the story of the research
(iii) Presents his first doctoral dissertation
(A) ii, iii, i(B) iii, ii, i(C) i, iii, ii(D) iii, i, ii - 1 markArrange these lines from the essay’s argument in the order they occur:
(i) ‘The interview has become a commonplace of journalism.’
(ii) Denis Brian’s view on the interviewer’s ‘unprecedented power and influence’
(iii) Some make ‘extravagant claims’ calling it a source of truth
(iv) Others despise it as ‘an unwarranted intrusion’
(A) iv, iii, ii, i(B) ii, i, iii, iv(C) i, iii, iv, ii(D) iii, ii, i, iv - 1 markArrange the events around The Name of the Rose’s American publication in order:
(i) The novel sells two to three million copies in the US
(ii) Eco’s American publisher says she loved the book
(iii) Eco is given an advance for 3,000 copies
(iv) The publisher expects no more than 3,000 copies to sell
(A) i, ii, iii, iv(B) iii, iv, i, ii(C) ii, iv, iii, i(D) iv, i, ii, iii
5 Fill in the Blanks
Fill in the Blanks
- 1 markComplete the quote: ‘Since its invention a little over 130 years ago, the interview has become a ______ of journalism.’
(A) burden(B) novelty(C) commonplace(D) mystery - 1 markComplete the quote: ‘No. ______ are puzzled. And sometimes publishers.’
(A) Readers(B) Critics(C) Professors(D) Journalists
6 Odd One Out
Odd One Out
- 1 markWhich of these writers is the odd one out, based on their view of being interviewed?
(A) Lewis Carroll(B) Rudyard Kipling(C) Saul Bellow(D) Denis Brian
7 Passage-Based Questions
Passage-Based Questions
Passage
Others, usually celebrities who see themselves as its victims, might despise the interview as an unwarranted intrusion into their lives, or feel that it somehow diminishes them, just as in some primitive cultures it is believed that if one takes a photographic portrait of somebody then one is stealing that person’s soul.
- 1 markRead the passage and answer: According to the passage, who is most likely to see the interview as an intrusion?
(A) Ordinary readers(B) Journalists themselves(C) Celebrities who see themselves as its victims(D) Publishers
Passage
Did you know what will happen if you eliminate the empty spaces from the universe, eliminate the empty spaces in all the atoms? The universe will become as big as my fist. Similarly, we have a lot of empty spaces in our lives. I call them interstices. Say you are coming over to my place. You are in an elevator and while you are coming up, I am waiting for you. This is an interstice, an empty space. I work in empty spaces. While waiting for your elevator to come up from the first to the third floor, I have already written an article!
- 1 markRead the passage and answer: What, according to Eco in this passage, would happen if all empty spaces in the universe were removed?
(A) Time would stop(B) Nothing would change(C) All matter would disappear(D) The universe would become as big as his fist - 1 markRead the passage and answer: What example does Eco give of an ‘interstice’ he personally uses?
(A) Time spent waiting for a lift to come up(B) Time spent commuting by car(C) Time spent eating breakfast(D) Time spent on the phone
8 True / False
True / False
- 1 mark‘According to the book’s About the Unit section, the chapter’s theme is the interview considered as a genre of communication.’ True or False?
(A) False(B) Partly true(C) Cannot be determined(D) True
Answer Key and Explanations
Direct Questions
- (B) The chapter is “From the Introduction to The Penguin Book of Interviews edited by Christopher Silvester.”
- (A) H. G. Wells called it ‘the interviewing ordeal’ in 1894, yet forty years later found himself interviewing Joseph Stalin.
- (C) The chapter introduces Eco as ‘a professor at the University of Bologna in Italy.’
- (A) Eco says, ‘At that point, at the age of 22, I understood scholarly books should be written the way I had done.’
- (A) When Mukund says “at least more than 20 of them…”, Eco corrects him: “Over 40.”
Match the Following
- (B) Naipaul: wounds people; Carroll: horror of the interviewer; Kipling: called it a crime; Bellow: thumbprints on his windpipe.
- (D) Linker connects back; signaller prepares for a shift; semiotics is the study of signs; interstices are empty spaces in a day.
- (D) Wells later interviewed Stalin (ii), Lodge’s remark opens the Eco interview (iii), Brian gives Part I’s closing view on the interviewer’s power (iv), and Eco published The Name of the Rose in 1980 (i).
Statement-Based Questions
- (B) (i) and (iii) are stated directly; (ii) is false, since the essay describes many celebrities who despise being interviewed.
- (D) (i) and (iii) are true; (ii) is false, since Wells was ‘a fairly frequent interviewee’ himself.
- (B) (i) and (ii) are correct; (iii) is false, since Eco says, “I work in empty spaces.”
- (D) (i) and (ii) are correct; (iii) is false, since Eco says the book’s success ‘is a mystery. Nobody can predict it.’
Arrange in the Correct Order
- (B) He presents his first doctoral dissertation (iii); “At that point, at the age of 22,” he understands how scholarly books should be written (ii); in 1980 he publishes The Name of the Rose (i).
- (C) The essay opens with the interview’s commonness, then gives the positive case, then the negative case, then closes with Denis Brian’s view.
- (C) The publisher first says she loved the book, but in the same breath says she expects to sell no more than 3,000 copies; Eco is accordingly given an advance for 3,000 copies; and in the end the novel sells two or three million in the US.
Fill in the Blanks
- (C) The essay’s opening line calls the interview ‘a commonplace of journalism.’
- (D) Eco’s exact reply is: ‘No. Journalists are puzzled. And sometimes publishers.’
Odd One Out
- (D) Carroll, Kipling and Bellow are all quoted expressing discomfort with or hostility to being interviewed; Denis Brian, by contrast, is quoted describing the interviewer’s power and influence, not expressing a view on being interviewed.
Passage-Based Questions
- (C) The passage specifies ‘celebrities who see themselves as its victims’ as those who despise the interview as an intrusion.
- (D) Eco says, ‘The universe will become as big as my fist’ if all empty spaces, even inside atoms, were eliminated.
- (A) Eco’s own example: while waiting for a visitor’s lift to come up from the first floor to the third, he has already written an article.
True / False
- (D) True: this is the exact theme given in the book’s own ‘About the Unit’ section.
More for this chapter