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Answer Key
1. B
Page 2
45. B
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91.
92.
93.
94.
95.
1. Because books are such an old and traditional medium, they are no longer very
influential.
A) True
B) False
2. Papyrus is a kind of paper made from treated animal skin.
A) True
B) False
3. Parchment is a kind of paper made from plant reeds found along the Nile River.
A) True
B) False
4. The Chinese were printing books using strips of wood and bamboo long before
Gutenberg printed his Bible using movable type.
A) True
B) False
5. Gutenberg developed the printing press in the fifteenth century.
A) True
B) False
6. The first printed books were so inexpensive and modest that they were primarily sold to
the middle and lower classes.
A) True
B) False
7. Pulp fiction was another name for the popular paperbacks and dime novels of the 1880s.
A) True
B) False
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8. Most of the original publishing houses in America, such as J. B. Lippincott (founded in
1792), Harper & Bros. (1817), and Houghton Mifflin (1832), are still independent companies
unaffiliated with any other media firms.
A) True
B) False
9. Trade books refers to the category of books sold to the general reader at commercial
retail outlets.
A) True
B) False
10. The Harry Potter series gave an enormous boost to the juvenile books segment of the
trade industry.
A) True
B) False
11. Professional books are sold mostly through mail order, the Internet, or specialized sales
representatives.
A) True
B) False
12. McGuffey’s The Electric Reader taught most nineteenth-century elementary school
children to read.
A) True
B) False
13. In about 89 percent of the states, local school districts determine which textbooks will be
used by their students.
A) True
B) False
14. Despite the rise of digital textbooks, the price of college textbooks continues to rise.
A) True
B) False
15. Graphic novels are composed of only graphic sex and violence.
A) True
B) False
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16. Sales of religious books have dropped substantially over the past twenty years.
A) True
B) False
17. University presses are usually very small presses and produce over 100 titles a year.
A) True
B) False
18. University presses are the smallest division in the book industry.
A) True
B) False
19. Once strongly influenced by books, television and film now look elsewhere for most of
their story ideas.
A) True
B) False
20. The idea of the e-book was born when Michael Hart typed up the text of the U.S.
Declaration of Independence on his computer in 1971.
A) True
B) False
21. The first e-book readers introduced in the 1990s were deemed too expensive and too
heavy. A) True
B) False
22. Despite Amazon’s attempt to jump-start the e-book market with the Kindle device, it is
the slowest-growing segment of the book publishing industry.
A) True
B) False
23. By 2013, e-books represented more than 30 percent of adult fiction book sales in the
United States.
A) True
B) False
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24. Libraries are unable to digitize any books because of copyright laws.
A) True
B) False
25. One of the triumphs of the Internet is that it allows the digital passage of banned books
into nations where printed versions have been outlawed.
A) True
B) False
26. Unlike most other forms of mass media, book publishing has avoided being dominated
by a few huge corporations.
A) True
B) False
27. In the publishing industry, advance money is an early payment to the author that is not
deducted from the author’s royalties on book sales.
A) True
B) False
28. Bookstores must absorb the cost of any new books they don’t sell.
A) True
B) False
29. The development of book superstores in the 1980s reinvigorated book sales.
A) True
B) False
30. The rise of book superstores and online retailers has caused independent bookstores’
business to drop significantly.
A) True
B) False
31. E-publishing has allowed authors to sidestep traditional publishers because the cost of
producing and distributing an e-book is low.
A) True
B) False
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32. The first protomodern book, which used sheets of material sewn together at the edges to
allow the book to be opened at any page, was called a(n) ______.
A) papyrus
B) parchment
C) codex
D) illuminated manuscript
E) vellum
33. Many books from the Middle Ages were called illuminated manuscripts because they
were ______.
A) elaborately decorated with colorful designs and illustrations
B) printed using reflective ink
C) burned in castle fireplaces to honor God
D) read aloud in the town square by scholars who explained, or illuminated, the text
E) None of the options are correct.
34. Rules of punctuation, capitalization, and spacing of written words were developed
______.
A) during the Middle Ages by scribes
B) in 1452 by printer Johannes Gutenberg
C) in the 1500s for the publication of Canterbury Tales
D) in the ninth century by Wang Chieh for the Diamond Sutra
E) during the Renaissance by Leonardo DaVinci
35. Which of the following is the oldest printed book still in existence?
A) The Gutenberg Bible
B) The Bay Psalm Book
C) Wang Chieh’s Diamond Sutra
D) Plato’s Republic
E) Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales
36. Well before Gutenberg’s printing press, who brought the Chinese technology of block
printing to Europe?
A) Marco Polo
B) Genghis Khan
C) Christopher Columbus
D) Immigrants from China
E) Arab spice traders
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37. Johannes Gutenberg is remembered for ______.
A) inventing paper
B) developing the printing press
C) inventing the codex
D) translating the Canterbury Tales into English
E) translating the Bible into English
38. The first English work to be printed in book form was ______.
A) the Gutenberg Bible
B) The Whole Book of Psalms
C) Diamond Sutra by Wang Chieh
D) Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales
E) None of the options are correct.
39. The author of the first dime novel was ______.
A) Ann Stephens
B) Samuel Richardson
C) Benjamin Franklin
D) Irwin Beadle
E) Chaucer
40. Which of the following did the linotype do?
A) Engrave photographs
B) Set type mechanically
C) Power the press by electricity
D) Add color to the printed page
E) Type lines underneath printed words
41. Which statement about the early American “prestigious” publishing houses is true?
A) They developed rapidly during the eighteenth century with printers like Benjamin
Franklin.
B) For almost a century, there was only one major publishing house that was broken
apart by antitrust laws.
C) The first American publishing houses were founded between 1900 and 1910.
D) The oldest and most prestigious American publishing houses are all now part of
major media conglomerates.
E) All of the options are correct.
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42. An adult trade book is ______.
A) a novel of a pornographic nature
B) any hardbound or paperback book, fiction or nonfiction, aimed at the general adult
reader
C) a type of book that targets various occupational groups and is not intended for the
general consumer market
D) a type of book typically used in the classroom setting as students learn about a
specific topic
E) in the category of books that includes dictionaries, encyclopedias, and almanacs
43. A Japanese form of graphic novels is called ______.
A) a codex
B) a dime novel
C) manga
D) pulp
E) el-hi
44. Which division of the book industry makes the most money?
A) Trade books
B) Textbooks
C) Professional books
D) Mass market paperbacks
E) Reference books
45. According to your textbook, many movies have been inspired by comics and graphic
novels because ______.
A) they are all about warriors and superheroes
B) they have strong stories and visual narratives
C) they are all about regular mortals
D) the movie industry wants to appeal to an older, more literary audience
E) All of the options are correct.
46. What is the “Marvel Cinematic Universe?”
A) A successful movie franchise
B) A society of cartoonists creating comic books
C) The main lobby group for artists in Washington
D) Blockbuster films and television programs featuring superhero characters
E) A convention for comic book fans
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47. The largest book publisher in 2015 was __________.
A) Penquin Random House
B) Pearson
C) McGraw-Hill Education
D) Holzbrinck
E) Thomas Reuters
48. Which of the following have instant books been accused of?
A) Shoddy binding and paper quality
B) Giving too much historical perspective on events
C) Being too similar to made-for-TV movies
D) Exploiting tragedies for quick profits
E) None of the options are correct.
49. The most challenged book of 2015 was ________________.
A) Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
B) The Holy Bible
C) Looking for Alaska by John Green
D) Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan
E) Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James
50. Which of the following is the best-selling book of all time?
A) Various versions of the Bible
B) Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook
C) Baby and Child Care by Dr. Benjamin Spock
D) Peyton Place by Grace Metalious
E) Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
51. These books have inspired popular television and Internet shows that have also boosted
the sales of the book______.
A) A Series of Unfortunate Events
B) 11.22.63
C) Pretty Little Liars
D) Game of Thrones
E) All of the options are correct.
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52. Numerous books became best-sellers after their authors appeared on __________.
A) Inside Edition
B) Home Improvement
C) Oprah
D) C-SPAN’s Booknotes program
E) 20/20
53. What are two major facets of the relationship between books and television?
A) The ability of book authors to become TV stars and TV stars to write books
B) That TV can help sell books and that books serve as ideas for TV shows
C) That books need to be advertised on television and TV shows need to be talked
about in books in order for either industry to be profitable
D) That television shows often give authors ideas for books but books are never a
source of inspiration for TV shows
E) None of the options are correct.
54. Which of the following is a method large book publishers use to generate enormous
revenues?
A) Allowing bookstores to return unsold copies of books for credit
B) Paying large advances to authors
C) Seeking out and publishing books only a handful of scholars will ever read
D) Signing lucrative agreements for turning books into films or television programs
E) Investing in printed encyclopedia projects
55. What percentage of a self-published e-book belongs to the author as a royalty?
A) 30%
B) 10%
C) 20%
D) 70%
E) 75%
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56. Which of the following is true about the relationship between the movie and publishing
industries?
A) The film industry rarely turns to the publishing industry for ideas because books are
seen as an outdated mode of communication.
B) Publishers and authors are often cheated out of huge movie rights revenues for film
adaptations of novels.
C) The film industry will adapt graphic novels or comic books, but not fiction or
nonfiction.
D) Publishers pay movie studios huge amounts of money to have their books adapted
into movies.
E) None of the options are correct.
57. Which of the following statements about audio books is true?
A) Audio books are now downloadable to mobile devices.
B) Audio books offer a valuable service to sightless and vision-impaired readers.
C) Regular readers enjoy audio books during daily commutes or long drives.
D) The number of audio books borrowed from libraries soared in the 1990s and early
2000s.
E) All of the options are correct.
58. ______ made one of the first portable electronic reading devices.
A) Sony
B) Amazon
C) Apple
D) Barnes & Noble
E) Borders
59. ______ developed the first commercially successful electronic reading device.
A) Sony
B) Amazon
C) Apple
D) Barnes & Noble
E) Borders
60. The key to the success of e-books has been ______.
A) the creation of an e-reader that has a comfortable-to-read display
B) the creation of an e-reader that was affordable for a large audience
C) having a large number of titles available electronically
D) making e-books less expensive than hardcover copies
E) All of the options are correct.
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61. According to the textbook, which of the following statements is most likely true about
the business of e-books?
A) The sales of e-books will probably level off at 5 percent of U.S. book sales.
B) The sales of e-books will likely drop as the fad passes.
C) Over half of all U.S. book sales were for e-books by 2012.
D) E-books are changing the nature of business expenses, profits, and costs to
consumers.
E) Publishers will probably stop producing print books by 2016.
62. Which of the following statements about e-books is false?
A) E-books accounted for 38 percent of U.S. adult fiction book sales by 2013.
B) E-books will likely surpass the print book market by 2017.
C) Apple’s iPod, iPad, and iPhone devices are so successful other competitors are
backing away from the e-book business.
D) Several companies, including Apple, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Google, are
competing for shares of the e-book market.
E) All of the options are correct.
63. According to the textbook, as e-books become more popular, consumers who use them
might expect to see ______.
A) e-books that will look and feel more like print books
B) very few changes from current e-books
C) e-books with embedded video, hyperlinks, and dynamic content
D) e-books that will look and feel more like magazines
E) All of the options are correct.
64. Millions of library books are deteriorating because ______.
A) there is too much humidity in library buildings
B) the ink used in printing the books is eating through the paper
C) the glue holding the books together is drying out
D) the books were printed on acid-based paper, which is turning brittle
E) nobody wants to take care of them
65. What is the name of the project in which many libraries and companies like Microsoft
and Amazon are joining forces to digitize millions of books with expired copyrights?
A) Apple
B) The Open Content Alliance
C) The Association of American Publishers
D) Google
E) The Digital Public Library of America
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66. What do Das Kapital, The Satanic Verses, and The Autobiography of Malcolm X have in
common?
A) They were all banned at one time or another.
B) They all had trouble finding a publisher.
C) They were the first books made into e-books.
D) They were originally published in Latin.
E) They were written by the same author.
67. Publishers employ ______ to seek out and sign authors to contracts.
A) copy editors
B) acquisitions editors
C) book agents
D) developmental editors
E) sales representatives
68. The rights to use the contents of a book in another form, such as a screenplay, are called
______.
A) royalties
B) residuals
C) subsidiary rights
D) an advance
E) bonus money
69. According to the textbook, books help us ______.
A) discover who we are
B) discover what we value
C) discover what our common ties with others are
D) understand ideas outside of our own experiences
E) All of the options are correct.
70. One of the first materials on which people could write language and symbols,
______________________ was obtained from plant reeds found along the Nile River.
71. An early type of book, the ______________________ was made up of sheets of
parchment that were cut and sewn together along the edge, then bound with thin pieces of wood
and covered with leather.
72. ______________________ from the Middle Ages featured decorative, colorful designs
and illustrations on each page.
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73. A printing technique developed by early Chinese printers, ______________________
involved hand-carving characters and illustrations into blocks of wood.
74. A fine parchment made from treated animal skin, ______________________ was used
in the Gutenberg Bibles.
75. ______________________ is a technology introduced in the nineteenth century that
enabled printers to set type mechanically using a typewriter-style keyboard.
76. The______________ ruled in 2013 that Apple and the major publishers colluded to set
book prices.
77. ________________ transformed the book industry by becoming the fastest growing
book delivery system in the world.
78. While e-books can be read off computers and smartphones, devices created specifically
for reading e-books are called ______________________.
79. ______________________ editors attend to specific problems in writing or length in a
book manuscript.
80. In book publishing, ______________________ editors provide authors with feedback,
make suggestions for improvements, and obtain advice from knowledgeable members of the
academic community.
81. The one remaining national bookstore retail chain is ______________________.
82. A large retail business that sells books, recordings, and new media is called a
______________________.
83. ____ include books about art and travel.
84. ____ include el-hi books.
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85. Law and medical books are considered _____ books.
86. A book by the evangelist, Billy Graham, is considered ____ books.
87. Why was the printing press such an important and revolutionary development?
88. What was the first novel printed in colonial America? What impact did its author’s work
have on society at the time?
89. Why did publishing houses develop? What has happened to them today?
90. If you were opening an independent bookstore in a town with a chain store, such as a
Barnes & Noble, how would you compete?
91. Why haven’t television and the growth of cable substantially decreased the number of
new book titles available each year? Will cable television and specialized computer technology
eventually displace books? Why or why not?
92. Discuss the publishing industry in the digital age. How has convergence changed the
publishing industry?
93. Is there ever a good reason to censor a library book? Why or why not? Use examples to
support your answer.
94. What have been the major contributions of books to democratic life?
95. Explain the arguments for and against the Google Books digital library project.
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Answer Key
1. B
45. B
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91.
92.
93.
94.
95.