Comprehension

Directions Answer these questions about the excerpt from The Ecclesiastical History of the English People by the Venerable Bede

1. According to Bede, what caused the lack of an active youth in Britain?

A. The youth had gone to sea.

B. The youth had been killed in battles with the Scots and Picts.

C. The people were destitute.

D. The people were afraid to fight.

E. Tyrants took them away.

2. For what reason does Bede claim that the Scots and Picts were “foreign nations”?

A. They lived in a remote part of the island.

B. They were invaders.

C. They were from outside Britain.

D. They were not Christian.

E. They were Nordic raiders.

3. Which of the following was an immediate effect of the first invasion of Britain described in the passage?

A. The Picts and Scots were slaughtered.

B. The Britons sent messengers to Rome.

C. The Romans abandoned the Britons.

D. The Romans were forced to flee.

E. A defensive wall was built to defend the Britons.

4. According to the context, what does the word slew, in line 9, mean?

A. chased

B. killed

C. overran

D. frightened

E. removed

5. According to Bede, what caused the Scots and Picts to return?

A. The defensive wall was never built.

B. The Britons were unable to defend themselves.

C. There were too few resources in their own countries.

D. They realized that the Romans had departed.

E. They wished to join the Romans.

6. According to the context, what does the word imploring, in line 16, mean?

A. refusing

B. expecting

C. issuing

D. begging

E. remembering

7. According to the context, what does the word deterred, in line 21, mean?

A. frightened

B. ashamed

C. restrained

D. amused

E. reassured

8. Why did the Scots and Picts become “more confident than they had been before”?

A. They had overcome Roman defenses.

B. They knew that the Romans would not return.

C. They had captured the northernmost part of the island.

D. The Britons had abandoned their cities.

E. The Britons had demonstrated their inability to fight.

9. To what does Bede compare the Scots and Picts?

A. Britons

B. Romans

C. wild beasts

D. lambs

E. the natives

10. According to Bede, how did some Britons save themselves?

A. They joined the Scots and Picts.

B.They robbed other Britons.

C. They fled to Rome.

D. They defeated the invaders.

E. They built a defensive wall.

11. From the context, what do you conclude that the word calamities, in line 30, means?

A. wars

B. friendships

C. illnesses

D. deaths

E. disasters

12. Which group or individual is the main protagonist in this passage?

A. the Romans

B. the Picts

C. the Scots

D. the Britons

E. Bede

13. Which of the following best describes the main external conflict represented in this passage?

A. man against man

B. man against nature

C. man against society

D. man against fate

E. man against the divine

14. What is the overall tone of this passage?

A. angry

B. ironic

C. authoritative

D. skeptical

E. sarcastic

15. From this selection, what do you conclude the author’s main purpose was?

A. to inform

B. to persuade

C. to instruct

D. to entertain

E. to tell a story