Words from myth, literature and history (herculean, quixotic, boycott…)
12th grade (Year 13 in England) · 16 questions · Common Core: L.11-12.4.B, L.7.5.A · England: A-level English Language (etymology), SAT Reading and Writing (Words in Context), GCSE English Literature
Name
Date
Score/ 16
Question 1
Which word or phrase best completes the sentence? The goalkeeper's weak left side was his ___.
- A. Achilles' heel
- B. odyssey
- C. Pandora's box
- D. nemesis
Question 2
Type the word or phrase (in English) that matches this description. to tease with something that stays out of reach (from Tantalus)
Answer
Question 3
Which word or phrase matches this description? needing enormous strength or effort (from Hercules and his twelve labours)
- A. tantalise
- B. draconian
- C. Achilles' heel
- D. herculean
Question 4
Which word or phrase best completes the sentence? The goalkeeper's weak left side was his ___.
- A. Achilles' heel
- B. odyssey
- C. Pandora's box
- D. nemesis
Question 5
Type the word or phrase (in English) that matches this description. to refuse to deal with a person, company or country as a protest (from Captain Charles Boycott, Ireland, 1880)
Answer
Question 6
Which word or phrase matches this description? enduring hardship without complaint (from the Stoic philosophers of Athens)
- A. stoic
- B. narcissistic
- C. Pandora's box
- D. maverick
Question 7
Which word or phrase best completes the sentence? Her ___ reply — just "No." — ended the conversation.
- A. narcissistic
- B. herculean
- C. draconian
- D. laconic
Question 8
Type the word or phrase (in English) that matches this description. a long, eventful journey (from Homer's epic about Odysseus)
Answer
Question 9
Which word or phrase matches this description? to shock or stir someone into action (from the scientist Luigi Galvani)
- A. odyssey
- B. herculean
- C. galvanise
- D. nemesis
Question 10
Which word or phrase best completes the sentence? Her journey from her village to the national team was a three-year ___.
- A. Achilles' heel
- B. odyssey
- C. maverick
- D. nemesis
Question 11
Type the word or phrase (in English) that matches this description. to shock or stir someone into action (from the scientist Luigi Galvani)
Answer
Question 12
Which word or phrase matches this description? a small but fatal weakness (from the hero Achilles)
- A. mentor
- B. Achilles' heel
- C. Pandora's box
- D. stoic
Question 13
Which word or phrase best completes the sentence? A ___ in the industry, he ignored the usual rules and built his own path.
- A. nemesis
- B. stoic
- C. maverick
- D. mentor
Question 14
Type the word or phrase (in English) that matches this description. a rival or force that brings someone's downfall (from the goddess of retribution)
Answer
Question 15
Which word or phrase matches this description? idealistic in an unrealistic, impractical way (from Cervantes's Don Quixote)
- A. Achilles' heel
- B. quixotic
- C. nemesis
- D. Pandora's box
Question 16
Which word or phrase best completes the sentence? The goalkeeper's weak left side was his ___.
- A. nemesis
- B. odyssey
- C. Pandora's box
- D. Achilles' heel
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