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Hanson, Mass Communication, 7e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
Chapter 4: Books: The Birth of the Mass Media
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. John Green is known for ______.
A. his popular young adult novels, such as The Fault in Our Stars
B. winning a MacArthur Foundation “genius grant”
C. writing an eleven-book series of Marvel’s Ms. Marvel comic
D. all of these
2. Which of the following was the earliest form of writing?
A. ideographs
B. pictographs
C. phonography
D. emojis
3. A writing system where abstract symbols stand for an object or idea is which of the
following?
A. ideographs
B. pictographs
C. phonography
D. alphabets
4. A form of picture writing that has become popular through the use of touch screen
devices in the 21st century is known as ______.
A. ideographs
B. pictographs
C. phonography
D. emojis
5. Papyrus is which of the following?
A. an ancient form of writing using symbols to stand for ideas
B. an ancient form of writing using symbols for sound
C. an early writing surface made from animal skin
D. an early writing surface made of reeds by the Egyptians
6. Parchment is which of the following?
A. an ancient form of writing using symbols to stand for ideas
B. an ancient form of writing using symbols for sound
C. an early writing surface made from animal skin
D. an early writing surface made of reeds by the Egyptians
7. Printing was invented by which of the following?
A. the Egyptians in about 3,000 BC
B. the Chinese prior to 200 AD
C. the Koreans in 1200 AD
D. the Germans in the 1450s AD
8. The first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary took approximately ______ years to
produce.
A. 10
B. 30
C. 70
D. 90
9. ______ was an important newspaper, magazine, and book publisher in colonial and
revolutionary America.
A. Ida M. Tarbell
B. Benjamin Franklin
C. Laurence A. Tisch
D. John Rawls
10. What invention directly led to the production of inexpensive dime novels?
A. Gutenberg’s typemold and printing press
B. the steam-powered rotary press
C. desktop publishing programs on the Macintosh computer
D. the Internet
11. Pearson, the world’s largest publisher, is best known for ______.
A. financial publications
B. the Harry Potter series
C. books for the education market
D. popular trade books
Hanson, Mass Communication, 7e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
12. What author paved the way for contemporary fantasy literature?
A. Judy Blume
B. Stephen King
C. J. K. Rowling
D. J. R. R. Tolkien
13. J. R. R. Tolkien’s novel The Hobbit was first published after which of the following
occurred?
A. His publisher’s 10-year-old son said he liked it.
B. The first three chapters were distributed over the Internet.
C. Fifty-five publishers rejected it.
D. He cut it in length by 75,000 words.
14. According the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median income for writers and
authors is approximately ______ a year.
A. $27,600
B. $61,240
C. $123,750
D. $223,245
15. A major change by the Unicode Consortium in 2018 was to add what kind of
emojis?
A. a frowny poop emoji to go with the smiling one
B. skulls with spiders or snakes coming out of them
C. new styles of people emojis with varying skin tones and hair types
D. multiple styles of pickles
16. Between 2009 and 2015, the number of independent book stores in the United
States _____.
A. continued a long running decline with a 20% decrease
B. stayed roughly steady in terms of numbers
C. increased by 35% over the period
D. you can’t fool me; there aren’t a significant number of indie bookstores any more.
17. In order for books to become popular, which of the following needed to occur?
A. a rapid form of printing
B. a literate public
C. an inexpensive source of paper
D. all of these
18. Which of the following was the most important effect of the printing press and
movable type?
A. Ideas could spread rapidly beyond the communities where they originated.
B. Book publishing became profitable.
C. Spelling became standardized.
D. Books could be printed in German instead of Latin.
19. The primary function of a book publisher is which of the following?
A. to print books
B. to sell books in bookstores
C. to buy manuscripts from authors and turn them into books
D. to supply books to media reviewers
20. Which of the following is true about the majority of book authors?
A. They become wealthy.
B. They self-publish their books.
C. They fabricate major details about their lives.
D. They make a modest income from their books.
21. Books are distributed to bookstores by which of the following?
A. companies like Amazon.com
B. companies like the Ingram Book Group
C. Barnes & Noble
D. publishers sending the books directly to the bookstores
22. Janet Evanovich became a best-selling author by doing which of the following?
A. combining elements of the romance and mystery genres
B. selling her books using publish-on-demand technology through her website
C. taking on a male pen name to sell her technological thrillers
Hanson, Mass Communication, 7e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
D. signing a contract with a small university press
23. What do The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Beloved, The Scarlet Letter, and Of
Mice and Men have in common?
A. They all were written in the 19th century.
B. People have attempted to ban each of them.
C. They were all written by Kurt Vonnegut.
D. They each deal with the Holocaust.
24. Why do libraries remain relevant in the 21st century?
A. They provide Internet access to people who don’t have it at home.
B. They have large collections of electronic documents.
C. They provide audiobooks and e-books for checkout.
D. all of these
25. Which of the following is a major advantage of electronic books?
A. The batteries will last a week a time.
B. The e-book device is relatively inexpensive.
C. The customer can carry 10 or more books in the space of a single book.
D. The screens of e-books are easier to read than the pages of conventional books.
Hanson, Mass Communication, 7e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
True/False
1. The earliest libraries were likely large collections of inscribed clay tablets dating back
to before 2100 BC.
2. The Oxford English Dictionary is routinely updated with new words such as
mansplain and hangry.
3. Prior to the development of Gutenberg’s printing press, there were no books
published.
4. Scriptoria was an early typeface designed by Gutenberg.
5. Gutenberg’s invention of movable type led to the world’s first mass media.
6. The development of the printing press led to the standardizing of language, spelling,
and grammar.
7. Books were being printed in Mexico City as early as the 1540s.
8. Audiobooks have become more popular in part because of the ready availability of
smartphones and smart speakers.
9. The federal government is one of the largest publishers in the United States.
10. Inclusive access programs are where a university licenses textbooks and other
materials from publishers and make them available to all campus students.
11. The Ingram Book Group is the book wholesaler that distributes books to
independent bookstores and Amazon.com.
12. The College Board estimates that students spend an average of $2,250 on
textbooks and supplies per year.
13. The people who choose which textbook to use are also the people who buy them.
14. Author Nathaniel Hawthorne despised the women novelists of his era because their
domestic novels sold much better than his serious novels.
15. Publishers view books as one more product in the entertainment business.
16. In the United States, books are usually banned at a national level and are generally
unavailable once they have been banned.
17. Amazon.com would be considered primarily a “short-head” book retailer.
18. Author Jonathan Franzen likes e-books because they are easier to keep up to date
than conventional paper books.
19. One of the most likely targets for electronic books will be textbooks.
20. One reason that independent bookstores grew in popularity over the last several
years is because they have a good understanding of the types of books their customers
like.
Essay
1. Name and explain two inventions that broadened the availability of books.
2. Briefly explain the difference between an ideograph and an alphabet writing system.
3. Name and define two predecessors of paper used as writing surfaces.
4. What is an illuminated manuscript?
5. What is a serial novel, and when were they popular?
6. Name the three major players (or elements) of the book business.
7. Why did the New York Times best-selling young-adult author John Green take 6
years between his novels The Fault in Our Stars and Turtles All the Way Down?
8. Use concepts discussed in the book so far to explain why the Unicode Consortium
put so much effort into making sure that emojis represent a wide range of skin tones
and hair color/styles?
9. According to your textbook, what are two reasons people might want to ban/restrict
books?
10. Name a long-tail bookseller, and explain what makes it part of the long tail.
11. Name an advantage that electronic books offer over paper books.
12. Name a disadvantage of electronic books.
13. In a brief essay, explain why independent bookstores have staged a resurgence
since 2009.
14. In a brief essay, discuss how the development of the printing press changed the
world in the 15th and 16th centuries.
15. In a brief essay, discuss the steps a book goes through before it is purchased by the
public.
Hanson, Mass Communication, 7e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
16. In a brief essay, explain why the Anne Frank House might have decided to publish a
graphic novel account of the life of Anne Frank.
