Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
You are on page 1of 75

Test Bank for Financial Accounting

12th Edition by Warren


Go to download the full and correct content document:
https://testbankmall.com/product/test-bank-for-financial-accounting-12th-edition-by-w
arren/
More products digital (pdf, epub, mobi) instant
download maybe you interests ...

Solution Manual for Financial Accounting 12th Edition


by Warren

https://testbankmall.com/product/solution-manual-for-financial-
accounting-12th-edition-by-warren/

Financial & Managerial Accounting Warren 12th


Edition Solutions Manual

https://testbankmall.com/product/financial-managerial-accounting-
warren-12th-edition-solutions-manual/

Test bank for Financial & Managerial Accounting 14th


Edition by Warren

https://testbankmall.com/product/test-bank-for-financial-
managerial-accounting-14th-edition-by-warren/

Solution Manual for Financial & Managerial Accounting


15th by Warren

https://testbankmall.com/product/solution-manual-for-financial-
managerial-accounting-15th-by-warren/
Managerial Accounting Warren 12th Edition Solutions
Manual

https://testbankmall.com/product/managerial-accounting-
warren-12th-edition-solutions-manual/

Financial and Managerial Accounting 14th Edition Warren


Test Bank

https://testbankmall.com/product/financial-and-managerial-
accounting-14th-edition-warren-test-bank/

Test Bank for Financial and Managerial Accounting, 11th


Edition: Warren

https://testbankmall.com/product/test-bank-for-financial-and-
managerial-accounting-11th-edition-warren/

Solution Manual for Financial & Managerial Accounting,


12th Edition, Carl S. Warren, James M. Reeve Jonathan
Duchac

https://testbankmall.com/product/solution-manual-for-financial-
managerial-accounting-12th-edition-carl-s-warren-james-m-reeve-
jonathan-duchac/

Solution Manual for Financial Accounting 12th by Thomas

https://testbankmall.com/product/solution-manual-for-financial-
accounting-12th-by-thomas/
Answer not provided.

PTS: 1 REF: p. 11 OBJ: 1-2


NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking TOP: Business: A Definition

5. What three activities must a business perform in order to be successful? Briefly describe each of these
and why each is essential to business success.

ANS:
Answer not provided.

PTS: 1 REF: p. 9 OBJ: 1-2 NAT: AACSB: Analytic


TOP: Business: A Definition

6. Explain how the notion of scarcity is related to personal as well as business decision making.

ANS:
Answer not provided.

PTS: 1 REF: p. 12 OBJ: 1-3


NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking TOP: Types of Economic Systems

7. Explain how the basic economic questions are answered in capitalistic and command economies.

ANS:
Answer not provided.

PTS: 1 REF: p. 13-17 OBJ: 1-3


NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking TOP: Types of Economic Systems

8. Why do we say that the U.S. economy is a mixed economy?

ANS:
Answer not provided.

PTS: 1 REF: p. 15 OBJ: 1-3


NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking TOP: Types of Economic Systems

9. How does socialism differ from communism?

ANS:
Answer not provided.

PTS: 1 REF: p. 16-17 OBJ: 1-3


NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking TOP: Types of Economic Systems

10. Why is productivity important? How can a nation's productivity rate be improved?

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
ANS:
Answer not provided.

PTS: 1 REF: p. 17 OBJ: 1-4


NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

11. What is real gross domestic product, and how does it differ from gross domestic product?

ANS:
Answer not provided.

PTS: 1 REF: p. 18 OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Communication


TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

12. A nation's economy fluctuates instead of growing at a steady pace every year. These fluctuations are
generally referred to as the business cycle. Describe the four different phases of the business cycle.

ANS:
Answer not provided.

PTS: 1 REF: p. 20-21 OBJ: 1-4


NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

13. What is the difference between monetary policies and fiscal policies? How does each affect the
nation's economy?

ANS:
Answer not provided.

PTS: 1 REF: p. 21 OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic


TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

14. In perfect competition, who sets the price of a product?

ANS:
Answer not provided.

PTS: 1 REF: p. 22 OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic


TOP: Types of Competition

15. Describe how supply and demand affect the price of a product.

ANS:
Answer not provided.

PTS: 1 REF: p. 22 OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic


TOP: Types of Competition

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
16. In a monopolistic competition setting, how can a manufacturer differentiate a product?

ANS:
Answer not provided.

PTS: 1 REF: p. 23 OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic


TOP: Types of Competition

17. How does a monopoly have complete control over the price of its product?

ANS:
Answer not provided.

PTS: 1 REF: p. 24 OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Communication


TOP: Types of Competition

18. What effect did the Industrial Revolution and the golden age of invention have on the development of
American business?

ANS:
Answer not provided.

PTS: 1 REF: p. 24-26 OBJ: 1-6 NAT: AACSB: Analytic


TOP: American Business Today

19. What do you consider the most important challenges that American business faces today?

ANS:
Answer not provided.

PTS: 1 REF: p. 29 OBJ: 1-6


NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking TOP: American Business Today

MULTIPLE CHOICE

Satellite Communications

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Jonathan worked for Satellite Communications for twenty years. In the time that he worked there, he
learned a lot about the company and how it operated. The company met its sales and revenue goals
every year. However, most of the employees had similar educational and cultural backgrounds. He
believed that the company could do much better if it cultivated an environment that promoted many
different ideas. Additionally, Satellite Communications was mostly focused on how much revenue it
earned in a given year. Jonathan felt that the most important goal should be to satisfy customers. He
believed financial success would result from focusing on customers.

After a lot of consideration, Jonathan decided to open his own business called Universal
Communications and hire employees that reflected a more diverse customer base. He was happy to
have this opportunity because it was a dream that he had always had. He had always wanted to make
his own decisions about what his company would produce and how. The only aspect of the business he
was unsure of was pricing, yet he knew this would be important for his ultimate success.

20. Refer to Satellite Communications. Jonathan is operating in a ____ because he has the opportunity to
decide what and how to do things.
a. command economy
b. mixed economy
c. free-enterprise system
d. split economy
e. cultural diversity
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 4
OBJ: 1-1 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Scenario Questions

21. Refer to Satellite Communications. When hiring people, Jonathan thinks it is important to consider
a. unilateral thinking.
b. profit.
c. wage increases.
d. health benefits.
e. cultural diversity.
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 6
OBJ: 1-1 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking TOP: Scenario Questions

22. Refer to Satellite Communications. Which company has the correct objective?
a. Satellite Communications
b. Universal Communications
c. Both of them
d. None of them
e. Not enough information is provided.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 10
OBJ: 1-2 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking TOP: Scenario Questions

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
23. Refer to Satellite Communications. Now that Jonathan plans to open his own business, he needs to
look at the factors of production. Which of the following is not a factor of production?
a. Labor
b. Capital
c. Machinery
d. Demand
e. Entrepreneurship
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Diff. REF: p. 12-13
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Scenario Questions

24. Refer to Satellite Communications. Jonathan's success will contribute to society. This is referred to as
the
a. objective.
b. market economy.
c. business cycle.
d. invisible hand.
e. standard of living.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Diff. REF: p. 14
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Scenario Questions

Home Inspirations

Hailey works for her father in a family-owned business called Home Inspirations, a bedding company
that has been in operation since the 1800s. When her father retires, Hailey plans on taking over the
business. Hailey is aware of many things about the company that she likes, and a few things that she
does not. She has particularly noted that when the economy has low unemployment and high total
income, sales are great. However, any other time, sales are not so good.

Currently, all of the bedding items are created in one place and everyone works on various tasks every
day. Hailey is thinking about streamlining the production process so that individuals would be
responsible for only one task. She believes that if production would increase, she could sell her
products at a lower price and increase revenue. She knows that most bedding products available in the
market are very similar in nature and satisfy the same need. However, if she were able to lower prices,
this might give her company the competitive advantage that it needs. She would then be able to invest
money in differentiating her products by providing unique features, building the brand name, and
offering services such as free delivery. She is also considering selling her products on the Internet.
Hailey knows that her father does not like change very much, but she feels these changes are important
for the future of the company.

25. Refer to Home Inspirations. Hailey noticed that when sales were up, the economy was in a
6

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
a. depression.
b. peak period.
c. grace period.
d. recession.
e. stagnant mode.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 20
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Scenario Questions

26. Refer to Home Inspirations. Home Inspirations currently operates in a ____ environment.
a. purely competitive
b. demand
c. monopolistic
d. command
e. supply
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 23
OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Scenario Questions

27. Refer to Home Inspirations. Hailey feels that for productivity to improve, the company must practice
a. free enterprise.
b. work ethics.
c. specialization.
d. cultural diversity.
e. pure competition.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 23
OBJ: 1-6 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking TOP: Scenario Questions

28. Refer to Home Inspirations. Hailey's goal of offering products with unique features and special
services is called
a. specialization.
b. product differentiation.
c. barter.
d. a factory system.
e. a natural monopoly.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 23
OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Scenario Questions

29. Refer to Home Inspirations. Which of these statements is true?


a. Hailey feels that e-business is an important avenue to venture into.
b. Home Inspirations is in a depressive economy.
c. Hailey feels that the barter system is working well.
d. The economy has a high standard of living.
e. The company's sales are obviously in equilibrium.
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Diff. REF: p. 26
OBJ: 1-6 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking TOP: Scenario Questions

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
30. Amazon.com has the following rights: to make a profit for its stockholders; to market a wide variety of
products; and, to compete with other online retailers. Amazon.com operates in a(n) ____ system.
a. free-enterprise
b. domestic
c. e-business
d. socialistic
e. totalitarian
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 4
OBJ: 1-1 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Your Future in the Changing World of Business

31. When an individual chooses his or her ideal career, it is most likely a reflection of one's
a. values.
b. hobbies.
c. skills.
d. education.
e. desire to be rich.
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 6
OBJ: 1-1 NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking
TOP: Your Future in the Changing World of Business

32. Chris chooses to work only thirty hours a week as an engineering assistant while trying to shield
himself from additional responsibilities at work. Chris seems to value
a. recognition and rewards.
b. the opportunity to help others.
c. promotions and transfers.
d. more free time.
e. get-rich-quick schemes.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 6
OBJ: 1-1 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Your Future in the Changing World of Business

33. Of the following, which is not considered a basic management function necessary to be an effective
manager?
a. Planning
b. Organizing
c. Leading and motivating
d. Controlling
e. Selling
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 7

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
OBJ: 1-1 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Your Future in the Changing World of Business

34. Cultural diversity represents


a. a business theory that is no longer valid.
b. the differences among people in a workforce.
c. a technical skill.
d. a statistical method used to project sales revenues and profits for global companies.
e. a religious issue that doesn't affect business organizations.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 6
OBJ: 1-1 NAT: AACSB: Diversity
TOP: Your Future in the Changing World of Business

35. Shawn Sine decides to start his own business. How likely is Shawn to still be operating a successful
business in seven years?
a. It depends on whether it is an e-business or not.
b. It is very likely because most small businesses are successful.
c. It is likely because the chance of failure is nearly equal to the chance for success.
d. It is unlikely because over half of all new small businesses fail.
e. It is very unlikely because almost all new businesses fail within the first three years.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Diff. REF: p. 8
OBJ: 1-1 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Your Future in the Changing World of Business

36. According to Internet entrepreneur Mark Cuban,


a. e-business is a passing fad.
b. there is no need for a dot.com company to worry about competition.
c. many companies will fail over the next ten years if they don't provide something their
customers want.
d. there is no need for managers of dot.com companies to worry about meeting customer
needs.
e. there is no need to evaluate a high-tech company because almost all dot.com companies
are profitable.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 8
OBJ: 1-1 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Your Future in the Changing World of Business

37. The ability for a manager to think in abstract terms while envisioning the “big picture” falls into the
category of _____, deemed an important management trait.
a. interpersonal skills
b. conceptual skills
c. leading and motivating functions
d. mechanical skills
9

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
e. controlling functions
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 7
OBJ: 1-1 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Your Future in the Changing World of Business

38. The organized effort of individuals to produce and sell, for a profit, the goods and services that satisfy
societies needs is called
a. consumerism.
b. the economy.
c. capitalism.
d. business.
e. the workplace.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 10
OBJ: 1-2 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Business: A Definition

39. Raw materials, buildings, and machinery are ____ resources.


a. human
b. financial
c. information
d. major
e. material
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 10
OBJ: 1-2 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Business: A Definition

40. All of the following are material resources for Toyota Motor Company except
a. paint.
b. steel.
c. factory.
d. tires.
e. money.
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 10
OBJ: 1-2 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Business: A Definition

41. ____ resources include the funds needed to pay wages, purchase raw materials, and operate a business.
a. Human
b. Financial
c. Information
d. Major
e. Material
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 10
OBJ: 1-2 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Business: A Definition

42. ____ resources are the individuals who provide labor for an organization in exchange for wages.
a. Human
b. Material
10

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
c. Labor
d. Financial
e. Informational
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 10
OBJ: 1-2 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Business: A Definition

43. The monetary contributions that the owners of IBM pay for shares of the company's stock are ____
resources for IBM.
a. material
b. financial
c. informational
d. human
e. manufacturing
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 10
OBJ: 1-2 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Business: A Definition

44. What resource tells the managers of a business how effectively the other three resources are being
combined and used?
a. Technical
b. Human
c. Financial
d. Material
e. Informational
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 10
OBJ: 1-2 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Business: A Definition

45. Organizations that combine raw materials, machinery, and labor to produce goods are called
a. manufacturing businesses.
b. service businesses.
c. merchandisers.
d. market intermediaries.
e. processors.
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 10
OBJ: 1-2 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Business: A Definition

46. Which of the following companies is an example of a manufacturer?


a. Best Buy
b. Intel
c. Walmart
d. AIG
e. Broadcast.com
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 10
OBJ: 1-2 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Business: A Definition

11

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
47. Mondell Weller decides to start a residential landscaping business. How would this business most
likely be classified?
a. Manufacturing business
b. Marketing intermediary
c. Service business
d. Corporation
e. Nonprofit organization
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Diff. REF: p. 10
OBJ: 1-2 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Business: A Definition

48. A business’ efforts to sustain the planet and their participation in ecological movements are part of a
firm’s
a. free enterprise system.
b. stakeholder responsibilities.
c. factors of production.
d. social responsibility.
e. business cycle.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 11
OBJ: 1-2 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Business: A Definition

49. Best Buy stores would most likely be classified as


a. service businesses.
b. sole proprietorships.
c. a marketing intermediary.
d. manufacturing establishments.
e. perfect competition.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 10
OBJ: 1-2 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Business: A Definition

50. A local retailer calls its customers when it receives merchandise that they may be interested in,
provides individual service to each customer, provides forms and phone numbers for complaints and
comments, and has a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee. Which objective is this business working hard
to accomplish?
a. Making a profit
b. Achieving low employee turnover
c. Satisfying the needs of its customers
d. Increasing the owner's wealth
e. Keeping up with the current technology
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Diff. REF: p. 10

12

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
OBJ: 1-2 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Business: A Definition

51. The ultimate objective of every firm, such as IBM, Hewlett-Packard, JC Penney, and Cengage
Learning, must be to
a. sell either to other firms or to consumers.
b. satisfy the needs of its customers.
c. pay out money to cover the various expenses of doing business.
d. know that people generally buy a product and store it.
e. make it impossible to satisfy customers.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Diff. REF: p. 10
OBJ: 1-2 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Business: A Definition

52. In the mid-1970s, American auto manufacturers produced big gas-guzzling cars and tried to sell them
to consumers who needed fuel-efficient transportation. This happened because manufacturers
a. lost sight of consumers' needs.
b. attempted to satisfy consumers' needs.
c. followed consumers' wants too closely.
d. knew the economy would rise again.
e. did not expect a profit.
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Diff. REF: p. 10
OBJ: 1-2 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Business: A Definition

53. When a firm's sales revenues are greater than its expenses, the firm has a
a. profit.
b. loss.
c. positive cash flow.
d. financial resource.
e. factor of production.
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 11
OBJ: 1-2 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Business: A Definition

54. When a firm's expenses are greater than its sales revenue, the firm has a
a. profit.
b. loss.
c. negative cash flow.
d. recession.
e. depression.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 11
OBJ: 1-2 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Business: A Definition

55. The relationship between sales and profits can be written as


a. sales revenues + expenses = profit.

13

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
b. loss + profit = sales revenue.
c. profit − expenses = sales revenue.
d. expenses + loss = sales revenue + profit.
e. sales revenue − expenses = profit.
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 11
OBJ: 1-2 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Business: A Definition

56. During 2011, Just-The-One Jewelry had sales revenues of $1,500,000. This retailer also had expenses
that totaled $800,000. What is the firm's profit or loss amount?
a. $2,300,000
b. $1,500,000
c. $800,000
d. $700,000
e. It is impossible to calculate profit or loss with the above information.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 11
OBJ: 1-2 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Business: A Definition

57. Andrew Cooper decides to become a part owner of a corporation. As a part owner, he expects to
receive a profit as payment because he has assumed the risk of
a. serious inflation eroding the purchasing power of his investment.
b. being paid before the suppliers and employees are paid.
c. losing his home, car, and life savings.
d. losing the money he has invested in the corporation and not receiving profits.
e. the company giving all of the profits to local communities.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Diff. REF: p. 12
OBJ: 1-2 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Business: A Definition

58. At the end of the year, an individual, small business owner has made $65,000 in profit. Who does that
profit belong to?
a. The company's CEO and top managers
b. The banks from which the business borrowed money
c. All employees of the small business
d. The consumers of the business’ products
e. The owner of the business
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 12
OBJ: 1-2 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Business: A Definition

59. For a business, stakeholders represent


14

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
a. investors in the business.
b. lenders that have provided loans.
c. suppliers that have extended credit to the firm in search of profit for the firm..
d. employees who work for the firm.
e. all of the different people or groups who are affected by the business.
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 11
OBJ: 1-2 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Business: A Definition

60. ____ is the study of how wealth is created and distributed.


a. Economics
b. Business
c. Marketing
d. Capitalism
e. Finance
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 12
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

61. Microeconomics is the study of


a. global economies.
b. the entire U.S. economy.
c. the decisions made by individuals.
d. the national unemployment rate.
e. productivity in other countries.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 12
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

62. The study of an individual's economic decisions would be an example of


a. macroeconomics.
b. microeconomics.
c. fiscal policy.
d. monetary policy.
e. national economic policy.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 12
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

63. When economists study the national economy or global economy, they are using a ____ approach.
a. macroeconomics
b. microeconomics
c. fiscal
d. monetary
e. intuitive
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 12
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

64. According to economists, natural resources, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship are called
15

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
a. free resources.
b. competitive resources.
c. factory resources.
d. factors of manufacturing.
e. factors of production.
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 12-13
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

65. A natural resource, as recognized by economists, would include which of the following?
a. Crude oil
b. Buildings
c. Tools
d. Machinery
e. Equipment
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 12
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

66. The work performed to produce goods and services is referred to as


a. land.
b. financial resources.
c. material resources.
d. capital goods.
e. labor.
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 12
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

67. Matt Newell, a former Air Force pilot, decides to operate a helicopter tour company to provide
customers with breathtaking views of the Rocky Mountains. He obtains a loan and purchases the
necessary land, facilities, advertising, and five helicopters for his business. What important factor of
production has he overlooked in creating his business?
a. Equipment
b. Capital
c. Labor
d. Entrepreneurship
e. Natural resources
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Diff. REF: p. 12
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

68. Capital or capital goods as recognized by economists would include all of the following except
a. crude oil.
b. facilities.
c. money.
d. machinery.
e. computer equipment.
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 13
16

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

69. Steve Wilson, a chef at a major restaurant in San Francisco, wants to start his own restaurant. He
surveys the market, finds a suitable location, and calculates how much money he will need to lease the
building and purchase the necessary equipment and supplies. Steve visits his banker and requests a
loan. The money Steve will receive from the loan and the resources he will purchase with it are known
as
a. capital.
b. profit.
c. revenue.
d. collateral.
e. stock.
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 13
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

70. For a Pepperidge Farm production facility, managers and employees would be
a. natural resources.
b. capital.
c. information resources.
d. labor.
e. the entrepreneurial resource.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 12
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

71. A person who risks his or her time, effort, and money to start and operate a business is called a(n)
a. free-market specialist.
b. entrepreneur.
c. intrapreneur.
d. competitor.
e. profit taker.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 13
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

72. Diane is passionate about soccer and decides to open her own soccer sporting goods store. She invests
her money, time, and effort into making the store a success. Diane can be best described as a(n)
a. capitalist.
b. laborer.
c. corporate owner.
d. entrepreneur.
e. competitor.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 13
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

73. Which of the following scenarios would best exemplify Adam Smith's view of best serving the
interests of society?

17

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
a. Individuals are selected to fill certain positions within the economy of their nation
according to the needs of the nation as a whole.
b. Markets are carefully regulated to ensure that all individuals within a nation are treated
fairly and charged standardized prices.
c. A country only has a limited amount of space for college students and uses a type of
lottery system to determine who gets these spaces.
d. Government scarcely exists in this country, and transactions are based on a system of
barter, or trading goods, for other goods.
e. Individuals in the country may pursue their own economic gain and self-interest by doing
whatever is best for them.
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Diff. REF: p. 14
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

74. Which of the following is not a feature of laissez faire capitalism?


a. Competition
b. Guaranteed income
c. Private ownership of wealth
d. Economic freedom
e. Limited role of government
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 14
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

75. An economic system in which individuals and businesses make the decisions about what to produce
and what to buy, and the market determines how much is sold and at what prices, is called a ____
economy.
a. product
b. producer's
c. market
d. planned
e. command
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 14
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

76. Olan Okowo recently moved to the United States with many hopes and dreams. However, he realizes
that economic freedom includes all of the following except the right to
a. guaranteed economic success.
b. use owned resources to produce a profit.
c. accept or reject any job offered.
d. sell a product at the price chosen.
e. buy any economic good or service producers sell.
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 14
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

77. In Adam Smith's view, which of the following is not the role of government in business?

18

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
a. Providing defense against foreign governments
b. Regulating business activity
c. Ensuring internal order
d. Furnishing public works
e. Providing education
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Diff. REF: p. 14
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

78. The United States, whose economy exhibits elements of both capitalism and socialism, has what is
known as a ____ economy.
a. planned
b. utilitarian
c. nationalized
d. mixed
e. centralized
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 15
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

79. All of the following would typically be considered consumer products except a
a. 2-liter of Coke.
b. DVD player.
c. prom dress.
d. high-powered drill press.
e. bag of dog food.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Diff. REF: p. 15
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

80. Approximately what portion of our nation's total production is made up of consumer goods?
a. 70 percent
b. 50 percent
c. 40 percent
d. 20 percent
e. 10 percent
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 15
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

81. Which of the following represents the biggest customer of American business?
a. Government
b. Other businesses
c. Foreign governments

19

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
d. Consumers
e. The military
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 15
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

82. Households provide all of the following resources to businesses except


a. labor.
b. land.
c. dividends.
d. buildings.
e. capital.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Diff. REF: p. 15
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

83. Ways in which consumers affect American business include all the following except
a. purchasing goods and services.
b. providing necessary business capital.
c. providing the labor necessary for production.
d. providing the resources necessary for production.
e. taxing goods and services.
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 15
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

84. When consumers spend their money to purchase Amazon Kindles or computers with an Intel
processor, or when they discontinue buying such items as compact discs, they are telling resource
owners
a. how to produce.
b. for whom to produce.
c. what to produce.
d. when to produce.
e. to avoid faddish products.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 15
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

85. Gail Nelson begins her first job after graduating from college and starts putting money away in a
savings account. She believes she has removed this money from the circular flow between buyers and
sellers that she studied in Introduction to Business. Is Gail correct?
a. Yes, by putting this money into a savings account, only she has access to the funds and
they are no longer available to the circular flow.
b. No, even though she has saved this money, the bank will in turn invest the money back
into the circular flow.
c. Yes, only direct investments into companies, such as purchasing ownership shares of that
company, will put her savings back into the circular flow.
d. Yes, the circular flow focuses on businesses and government, and therefore Gail's savings
have no impact on the circular flow.

20

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
e. No, because she earned this money from a company and because she paid taxes on it, it is
always considered part of the flow.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Diff. REF: p. 15-16
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

86. For the U.S. government to provide services, it collects revenue from
a. only individuals in the form of taxes.
b. only corporations in the form of taxes.
c. selling bonds to foreign governments.
d. both households and businesses in various forms of taxes.
e. selling manufactured goods overseas.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 16
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

87. The government uses tax dollars to


a. invest in foreign bonds.
b. invest in foreign corporations.
c. purchase resources and products needed to provide services.
d. purchase other nations.
e. increase consumer income.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 16
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

88. A system where the basic economic questions are determined, at least to some degree, through
centralized government planning is referred to as a ____ economy.
a. command
b. capitalistic
c. mixed
d. laissez-faire
e. communal
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 16
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

89. Examples of command economies include


a. socialism and free enterprise.
b. capitalism and socialism.
c. socialism and market economy.
d. communism and capitalism.
e. socialism and communism.
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 16
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

90. Susan Montgomery works at an institutional bakery and is paid a wage dictated by the government.
She does not like her job but is not allowed other options. Susan must purchase necessities for her
family at fixed prices. The country Susan lives in can be described as a ____ economy.
21

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
a. demand
b. command
c. market
d. free-enterprise
e. capitalist
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p.16-17
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

91. In a socialist economy, key industries owned by the government include all except
a. utilities.
b. communications.
c. food production.
d. banking.
e. transportation.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 16
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

92. Tim Garner owns and operates his own small automobile repair shop. However, the prices he can
charge are fixed, and he rents his land and building from the government. Most of his friends work for
industries owned by the government. Tim's country is most likely a(n) ____ economy.
a. market
b. communist
c. socialist
d. industrialized
e. capitalist
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 16
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

93. Which of the following is uncharacteristic of a socialist economy?


a. All capital and capital goods are privately owned.
b. The government owns and controls key industries.
c. Land and raw materials may be the property of the state.
d. What to produce and how to produce it are based on national goals.
e. Distribution of goods and services is controlled by the state.
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 16
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

94. France, a socialist economy, does not have which of the following goals?
a. Equitable distribution of income
b. Elimination of poverty

22

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
c. Reduction of government regulations
d. Elimination of economic waste
e. Distribution of social services to all who need them
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Diff. REF: p. 16
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

95. An example of a command economy is


a. capitalism.
b. laissez-faire.
c. oligopoly.
d. communism.
e. mixed economy.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 16-17
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

96. The nationalization of key industries in countries such as Sweden and India is indicative of a(n) ____
economy.
a. socialist
b. communist
c. capitalist
d. nationalist
e. industrialized
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 16
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

97. Which economist has been called the father of communism?


a. Adam Smith
b. Fidel Castro
c. Mark Cuban
d. Karl Marx
e. Alan Greenspan
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 17
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

98. In a communist country such as Cuba, emphasis is placed on producing what type of goods?
a. Goods needed by the government
b. Consumer goods
c. Goods for export

23

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
d. Perishable goods such as food
e. Durable goods such as machinery
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 17
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

99. Although changes have occurred over the years, ____ is historically considered to have a communist
economy.
a. Germany
b. Sweden
c. Norway
d. North Korea
e. Britain
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 17
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

100. All of the following are characteristics of communist countries such as Cuba except
a. intensive production of goods the government needs.
b. all workers contribute to society according to their ability.
c. frequent shortages of consumer goods.
d. government ownership of almost all economic resources.
e. an adequate supply of consumer goods.
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 17
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

101. Productivity can best be described as


a. a country's total output.
b. the efficiency of a company's operations.
c. economic growth in a country.
d. the average level of output per worker per hour.
e. the average level of output per worker per year.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 17
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

102. The production and operations manager at a large shoe factory in Fall River, Massachusetts, notices
that the total number of hours worked by production employees has increased 12 percent, while the
number of pairs of shoes ready for shipping has dropped 6 percent this year over last year. This means
a. the inflation rate is unchanged.

24

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
b. the demand for shoes is decreasing.
c. the manager's calculations cannot be correct.
d. productivity has decreased.
e. the gross national product has increased by 6 percent.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 17
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

103. All of the following except ____ are effects felt by individuals in regard to the health of a nation’s
economy.
a. the amount of interest paid for a home
b. acquiring a job
c. obtaining financing for your education
d. increases in productivity
e. the interest paid on credit card purchases
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Diff. REF: p. 17
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

104. Which of the following situations is most likely to increase the United States' productivity?
a. Increased number of people in the workforce
b. Decreased production of goods
c. Increase in economic activity being transferred to the Internet
d. More corporations being split up into smaller divisions
e. More unemployment benefits
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Diff. REF: p. 18
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

105. Which of the following statements is false?


a. One way to reduce costs is to increase productivity.
b. Increased productivity can lead to higher manufacturing costs.
c. Increased productivity is a concern for nations throughout the world.
d. Productivity is expected to improve as more economic activity is transferred to the
Internet.
e. Productivity growth enables American business firms to compete more effectively with
other nations in a competitive world.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Diff. REF: p. 17
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

106. To compare the productivity of the United States to that of Japan, one should examine their respective

25

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
a. defense budgets.
b. trade deficits.
c. gross domestic products.
d. stock markets' performance.
e. consumer price indices.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 18
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

107. The total dollar value of all goods and services produced by all people within the boundaries of a
country is called
a. productivity.
b. gross domestic product.
c. gross national product.
d. inflation factor.
e. standard of living.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 18
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

108. Which of the following would not be included in the gross domestic product of the United States?
a. Value of tax return services performed by H&R Block, U.S. locations
b. Value of BMW automobiles manufactured in Alabama
c. Total value of Procter & Gamble products produced in Michigan
d. Value of medical care services rendered in the United States
e. Value of McDonald's sales for their Tokyo locations
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 18
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

109. Which of the following economic terms describes the total value of a nation's goods or services that
have been adjusted for inflation?
a. Altered gross domestic product
b. Gross domestic product
c. Real gross domestic product
d. Altered gross national product
e. Gross national product
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 18
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

110. Due to the recent economic crisis, many employers were reluctant to hire new employees. As a result,
the unemployment rate hovered at approximately ____ for most of 2009 and 2010.
a. 7 percent

26

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
b. 8 percent
c. 10 percent
d. 12 percent
e. 13 percent
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Diff. REF: p. 18
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

111. According to economists, inflation is


a. a general decrease in the level of prices.
b. a general rise in the level of prices.
c. unavoidable, and therefore something beyond the control of government.
d. eliminated by the government.
e. a general problem for countries with command economies.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 18
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

112. Deflation
a. is a typical economic event in the U.S. economy.
b. is scheduled by the nation's economists to make economic corrections.
c. occurs only in command economies.
d. is a general decrease in the level of prices.
e. is characteristic of a mixed economy.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 18
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

113. An executive at a U.S. steel company uses growth in gross domestic product as one way to develop
trends in industry steel use, so he records GDP change for each year on a graph. However, the
executive's figures are considerably higher than those of the staff economist, who also has drawn a
graph. This difference is most likely the result of
a. measurement errors by the U.S. Bureau of the Census.
b. a decline in gross domestic product.
c. an increase in gross domestic product.
d. the economist adjusting the figures for the inflation rate.
e. a change in productivity.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Diff. REF: p. 18
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

114. The consumer price index (CPI)


a. is a quarterly index that producers receive for their finished goods.

27

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
b. measures increases or decreases in the level of worker performance.
c. is the price of metals, lumber, and raw materials.
d. measures prices paid during periods of deflations.
e. is a monthly index that tracks the prices paid by consumers.
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 19
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

115. Which of the following is false in regard to the unemployment rate?


a. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, the country loses goods and services that could
have been produced.
b. A nation benefits from unemployment due to a lower level of wages required to be paid by
employers.
c. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, families lose wages due to unemployment.
d. The unemployment rates is the percentage of a nation’s labor force that are not working at
any one time.
e. The purchasing power of unemployed workers is lost.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Diff. REF: p. 18
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

116. A furniture manufacturer like Thomasville would be concerned with the producer price index because
it
a. is related to the real gross domestic product.
b. measures prices that manufacturers must pay for lumber and other raw materials used in
the manufacturing process.
c. tracks the cost of housing and transportation.
d. is published daily.
e. measures the effect of interest rates on the economy.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 19
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

117. The producer price index is an accurate predictor of


a. future changes in the consumer price index.
b. the level of unemployment.
c. prime interest rates.
d. Internet business activity.
e. an individual's standard of living.
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 19
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

28

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
118. Fluctuations in a nation's economy are referred to as its
a. economic upheaval.
b. inflation problem.
c. depression cycle.
d. business cycle.
e. recession period.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 20
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

119. All except ____ are considered industries that cause the U.S. recession and economic crisis that began
in fall 2007.
a. home construction
b. the automobile industry
c. retail
d. banking
e. financial markets
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Diff. REF: p. 20
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

120. All except ____ was a part of the U.S. federal government’s stimulus plan
a. Shore up the country’s banks
b. Create a more extensive physical infrastructure
c. Shore up Wall Street firms
d. Reduce the number of home foreclosures
e. Free up credit for individuals and businesses
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Diff. REF: p. 20
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

121. Which of the following is not one of the four states included in a typical business cycle?
a. Repression
b. Peak
c. Recession
d. Trough
e. Recovery
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 20-21
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

122. During which phase of the business cycle would a company like General Electric introduce new
products?
a. Repression
b. Peak

29

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
c. Recession
d. Depression
e. Recovery
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Diff. REF: p. 20
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

123. Which of the following is not a characterization of a depression?


a. High unemployment rates
b. Lower stock values
c. two or more consecutive three-month periods of GDP decline
d. General decrease in business activity
e. General lack of confidence in the economy by members of the population
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Diff. REF: p. 20
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

124. As Rachel Smith and her friends prepare to graduate from college, they are faced with numerous job
offers with starting salaries better than they could have imagined when they began college four years
ago. Based on this information, which stage of the business cycle would the economy be in?
a. Depression
b. Peak
c. Recession
d. Trough
e. Recovery
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 20
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

125. During which stage of the business cycle would a company such as 3M begin to focus on being more
value conscious in its production decisions?
a. Depression
b. Peak
c. Recession
d. Trough
e. Recovery
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 20
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

126. Economists define a ____ as two consecutive three-month periods of decline in a country's gross
domestic product.

30

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
a. repression
b. prosperity
c. recession
d. trough
e. recovery
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 20
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

127. The economic term used to describe the Federal Reserve's actions to determine the size of the supply
of money in the nation and the level of interest rates is
a. monetary policy.
b. fiscal policy.
c. debt policy.
d. recovery technique.
e. recovery guideline.
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 21
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

128. The Federal Reserve uses ____ when it lowers the interest rate charged to banks on short-term loans.
a. monetary policy
b. national debt
c. inflation
d. fiscal policy
e. competition
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 21
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

129. The economic term used to describe the government's influence on savings and changing the levels of
government spending is
a. monetary policy.
b. fiscal policy.
c. debt policy.
d. recovery technique.
e. recovery guideline.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 21
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

130. In France, income taxes are reduced so that individuals will have more income to spend, which in turn
will stimulate the economy. This is an example of
a. the business cycle.
b. economic stimulation.

31

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
c. monetary policy.
d. recession.
e. fiscal policy.
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 21
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

131. When the U.S. government spends more than it receives within a fiscal year, this is called the
a. economic debt.
b. federal deficit.
c. fiscal debt.
d. national debt.
e. consumer debt.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 21
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

132. The total of all federal deficits in the United States is called the
a. economic debt.
b. federal deficit.
c. fiscal debt.
d. national debt.
e. consumer debt.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Diff. REF: p. 21
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

133. Some economists believe that sound fiscal and monetary policy can reduce the amount of time the
economy is in the ____ stage of the business cycle.
a. recession
b. recovery
c. repression
d. prosperity
e. trough
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Diff. REF: p. 21
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

134. Since World War II, the average length of recessions has been
a. six months
b. eleven months
c. twenty-two months
d. three years

32

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
e. five years
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Diff. REF: p. 21
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

135. During which phase do high unemployment rates decline and levels of income increase?
a. Repression
b. Peak
c. Recession
d. Trough
e. Recovery
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 21
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

136. The rivalry among businesses for sales to potential customers


a. is an unfair business practice.
b. is a necessary part of a command economy.
c. is referred to as competition.
d. is typical in a communist nation.
e. doesn't exist in the real world.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 21
OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Competition

137. For firms like Target and Walmart, competition


a. is not a factor that must be considered in a free-market economy.
b. affects smaller businesses but not large chain operations.
c. affects larger chain operations but not smaller businesses.
d. is a rivalry among businesses for sales to potential customers.
e. is a problem that has been eliminated in the twenty-first century.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 21
OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Competition

138. Perfect competition is characterized by


a. many buyers and many sellers.
b. few buyers and few sellers.
c. few buyers and many sellers.
d. many buyers and few sellers.
e. a few companies that control the market.
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 22
OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Competition
33

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
139. ____ is a necessary and extremely important by-product of free enterprise.
a. Monopoly
b. Socialism
c. Communism
d. Competition
e. Poverty
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 21
OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Competition

140. As a farmer, Gary Forsythe is familiar with the economics of perfect competition. How is the price at
which he sells his corn determined?
a. It is determined by Gary because he has the product that many people want.
b. The price is determined by combining the actions of all buyers and all sellers together.
c. The price he will receive is primarily determined by the buyer at the local grain bin.
d. The government sets the price of the corn to level the playing field for everyone.
e. The price will be approximately 25 percent higher than what other farmers are selling the
same corn for because Gary is an astute businessperson.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 22
OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Competition

141. If the demand for a product declines, what happens to the price of the product?
a. The price stays the same.
b. The price decreases.
c. The price increases.
d. The equilibrium price will be maintained.
e. The market price will be maintained.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 22
OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Competition

142. As computers gained popularity, the ____ typewriters decreased along with the price.
a. demand for
b. supply of
c. equilibrium of
d. productivity of
e. monopoly associated with
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 23
OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Competition

143. As the price of jeans rises, Levi Strauss is likely to


a. decrease production and thus decrease the supply.
b. increase production and thus increase the supply.
c. do nothing to influence the available supply of jeans.
d. discontinue producing jeans in favor of a different product.
e. increase production to influence the demand for jeans.

34

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 22
OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Competition

144. A price at which the demanded quantity is equal to the produced quantity of that product is called the
____ price.
a. market
b. customer
c. equality
d. demand
e. supply
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 22-23
OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Competition

145. Researchers just released the results of a study that shows eating fish at least four times a week
dramatically decreases adults' risk of heart disease. What will likely result from this new information?
a. The demand for fish will decrease.
b. The supply of fish will decrease, causing a decrease in the price.
c. The demand for fish will increase at every price.
d. The demand for fish will decrease at every price.
e. The demand for fish will likely remain the same, but the market price will adjust.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 23
OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Competition

146. Monopolistic competition is a market situation in which


a. similar but not identical products are available.
b. only one product is available.
c. several identical products are available.
d. the same price is charged for all products.
e. the government regulates prices.
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 23
OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Competition

147. ____ is the process of developing and promoting the differences between one's products and other
similar products.
a. Advertising
b. Monopolistic competition
c. Product differentiation
d. Branding
e. Goods distinction
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 23

35

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Competition

148. The maker of Hanes pantyhose attempts to set its product apart from the competition. As a result, the
company obtained limited control over the price of its product. Achieving price control in this manner
is known as
a. advertising.
b. distributional efficiency.
c. low-cost production.
d. niche marketing.
e. product differentiation.
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 23
OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Competition

149. Although all casual clothing ultimately provides the same purpose, companies such as The Gap strive
to make their brand seem unique from the many other brands available on the market. The market for
casual clothing can best be characterized as
a. pure competition.
b. monopolistic competition.
c. an oligopoly.
d. a monopoly.
e. a natural monopoly.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 23
OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Competition

150. ____ is a market situation (or industry) in which there are few sellers.
a. Monopolistic competition
b. Pure competition
c. Monopoly
d. Oligopoly
e. Natural monopoly
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 23
OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Competition

151. Which of the following is not a characteristic of an oligopoly?


a. There are few sellers.
b. The seller has considerable control over price.
c. Any duplication of facilities is wasteful.
d. Sizable investments are required to enter the market.
e. The market actions of each seller can strongly affect other sellers.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 23-24
OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Competition

36

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
152. Which of the following industries would most likely have the characteristics of an oligopoly?
a. Clothing
b. Restaurants
c. Automobiles
d. Cameras
e. Make-up
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 23
OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Competition

153. When General Mills and a few other firms dominate the American cereal market, this is an example of
a. pure competition.
b. monopolistic competition.
c. oligopoly.
d. natural monopoly.
e. monopoly.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 23
OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Competition

154. Exxon/Mobil and Shell are two of the relatively few sellers in the oil-refining industry. Due to the
tremendous capital investment required to enter this industry, these companies are insulated
significantly from the threat of new competitive entrants and thus have considerable control over price.
This market situation is referred to as a(n)
a. cartel.
b. monopoly.
c. natural monopoly.
d. oligopoly.
e. trust.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 23
OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Competition

155. When Toyota experienced declining sales as a result of quality and safety issues, it began offering
buyer incentives to new-car buyers. Nearly immediately, Ford and General Motors began similar
promotions. These businesses
a. represent an oligopoly in which there are few sellers, and each seller has considerable
control over price.
b. represent a monopoly in which only one firm supplies a product or products.
c. are engaging in monopolistic competition in which there are many buyers as well as a
relatively large number of sellers that differentiate their products from those of
competitors.
d. are engaging in pure competition, in which no single seller is powerful enough to affect
37

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
prices.
e. are engaging in monopolistic competition, in which the products are very similar.
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 23-24
OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Competition

156. A market or industry with only one seller is referred to as


a. a limited command system.
b. a monopoly.
c. an oligopoly.
d. monopolistic competition.
e. a perfect competitive market.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 24
OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Competition

157. If all leading corporations in the soft-drink industry merged, this would
a. encourage pure competition.
b. encourage monopolistic competition.
c. lead to an oligopoly.
d. create a limited monopoly.
e. create a monopoly.
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 24
OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Competition

158. Public utilities are often referred to as


a. sole proprietorships.
b. monopolistic competitors.
c. monopolies.
d. oligopolies.
e. socialistic.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 24
OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Competition

159. What must a monopoly, such as a public utility, account for when setting its prices?
a. A monopoly, because it has no competitors, can set prices as high as it likes.
b. A monopoly must consider customer demand, and then set prices at the most profitable
level.
c. A monopoly must take into account what its top competitors are charging for the same
product or service.
d. A monopoly has no say in what prices it will charge because the government sets the
prices for all monopolistic industries.
e. A monopoly must look at the importance of each client, and then determine what
respective rate each will be charged.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Diff. REF: p. 24
OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Competition

38

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
160. Bowflex, Inc., which manufactures total strength training systems for home use, obtained a patent on
its power rods. Bowflex has a(n) ____ for this product.
a. monopoly
b. oligopoly
c. natural monopoly
d. limited monopoly
e. illegal monopoly
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 24
OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Competition

161. When Microsoft copyrighted its Windows software, it established a(n) ____ monopoly.
a. domestic
b. international
c. legal
d. natural
e. unnatural
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 24
OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Competition

162. ____ is a loose, subjective measure of how well off an individual or society is in terms of obtaining
want-satisfying goods and services.
a. Employment success
b. Standard of wealth
c. Standard of living
d. Economic satisfaction
e. Satisfaction economic factor
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 24
OBJ: 1-6 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: American Business Today

163. American Airlines traded eight 747s for twelve DC-10s owned by United Airlines. This transaction is
an example of
a. barter.
b. ancient trading.
c. the domestic system.
d. the factory system.
e. an unequal exchange of goods.
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 25
OBJ: 1-6 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: American Business Today

164. The system in which raw materials are distributed by entrepreneurs to homes in which family members
process those materials into finished products is referred to as
a. the factory system.
b. an apprenticeship.
c. specialization.
d. free enterprise.

39

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
e. the domestic system.
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 25
OBJ: 1-6 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: American Business Today

165. Randall Newman distributes rawhide to several different homes. In turn, each household produces a
product such as satchels, belts, shoes, and boots, and then Randall sells the finished goods. This
represents a(n)
a. oligopoly.
b. domestic system.
c. system of specialization.
d. factory system.
e. barter system.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 25
OBJ: 1-6 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: American Business Today

166. The use of the factory system in the United States helped to usher in the
a. colonial period.
b. Industrial Revolution.
c. Great Depression.
d. Renaissance.
e. twentieth century.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 26
OBJ: 1-6 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: American Business Today

167. One of Samuel Slater's contributions to the development of American business was the use of
a. capital.
b. flexible manufacturing.
c. domestic robots.
d. the factory system.
e. the domestic system.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 26
OBJ: 1-6 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: American Business Today

168. The separation of a manufacturing process into distinct tasks and the assignment of different tasks to
different individuals is called
a. specialization.
b. entrepreneurship.
c. free market.
d. barter.
e. factory manufacturing.
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 26
OBJ: 1-6 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: American Business Today

40

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
169. The Hamel family owns and operates an interior decorating business. Greg installs hardwood floors
and chair rails; Stephanie reupholsters furniture and takes care of the finances; Ryan designs and
makes draperies and pillows; and Allison coordinates the overall color, look, and design. The process
the Hamel family uses to run its business is
a. specialization.
b. division of service.
c. the factory system.
d. the domestic system.
e. the barter system.
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 26
OBJ: 1-6 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: American Business Today

170. The purpose of specialization is to


a. reduce productivity.
b. increase the efficiency of industrial workers.
c. boost the morale of an employee because he or she is special.
d. relieve boredom.
e. make the nature of the work more general.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 26
OBJ: 1-6 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: American Business Today

171. Which of the following is not a characteristic of the Great Depression?


a. Stock prices decreased.
b. It was a period of misery and human suffering.
c. There was a near collapse of the nation's economy.
d. The government became less involved in business activities.
e. People lost faith in business and its ability to satisfy society's needs.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 26
OBJ: 1-6 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: American Business Today

172. When did the U.S. government become more deeply involved in business than it had been previously?
a. In the early 1920s
b. After Franklin D. Roosevelt became president
c. After the Vietnam War
d. During the social responsibility movement during the 1960s
e. After the Korean War
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Diff. REF: p. 26
OBJ: 1-6 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: American Business Today

173. All except ____ are considered important, major events that shaped the nation’s economy during the
period of 1940 to 2000.
a. the Korean War
b. the institution of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s federal government programs
c. the shortage of crude oil
d. high inflation with high interest rates and reduced business profits

41

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
e. the Vietnam War
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 26
OBJ: 1-6 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: American Business Today

174. In the early 1980s, David Jimenez, a corporate finance manager, was faced with which of the
following problems?
a. High inflation rates
b. Competition from e-business firms
c. Too much productivity
d. Declining interest rates
e. A decline in the use of specialization
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 26
OBJ: 1-6 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: American Business Today

175. The organized effort of individuals to produce and sell, for a profit, the products and services that
satisfy society's needs through the Internet is known as
a. business.
b. economy.
c. entrepreneurship.
d. e-business.
e. e-marketing.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 26
OBJ: 1-6 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: American Business Today

176. Increased competition from firms in other nations is an example of the


a. technological environment.
b. global environment.
c. command environment.
d. laissez-faire environment.
e. mixed environment.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 27
OBJ: 1-6 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: American Business Today

177. In the last decade of the century, ____ became a major force in the economy in regard to business.
a. reduced business profits
b. high interest rates
c. high inflation
d. the Internet
e. shortage of crude oil
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 26
OBJ: 1-6 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: American Business Today

42

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
178. The current technology environment
a. is not as important as it was fifteen years ago.
b. does not affect manufacturing firms.
c. changes the way business firms communicate with customers.
d. doesn't change as often as it did fifteen years ago.
e. is not a concern for most firms that do business only in the United States.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 27
OBJ: 1-6 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: American Business Today

179. Which of the following statements does not describe the U.S. economy as we finish the first decade of
the new millennium?
a. Information technology will continue to fuel the new economy.
b. There will be more investment in information technology.
c. There will be fewer opportunities for international trade.
d. E-business will be a more important part of the economy.
e. Service businesses will continue to employ more than half of the American workforce.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 28
OBJ: 1-6 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: American Business Today

180. The concept of sustainability focuses on which of the following?


a. The needs of the present without compromising the future
b. The needs of the future without compromising the present
c. The needs of the firm to make a profit in the present
d. The needs of future employees
e. The needs of the government in the future
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 28
OBJ: 1-6 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: American Business Today

181. Service businesses employ approximately ___ percent of the U.S. work force.
a. 40
b. 50
c. 65
d. 75
e. 85
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Diff. REF: p. 27
OBJ: 1-6 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: American Business Today

43

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
182. Which of the following issues will not be a challenge for our economy in the years to come?
a. How can we encourage economic growth while conserving natural resources?
b. How can we preserve the benefits of competition?
c. How can we meet the challenges of managing a culturally diverse workforce?
d. How can individuals reinvest all the profits that have been made in the stock market as a
result of the strong economy?
e. How can we meet the needs of the less fortunate?
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 28
OBJ: 1-6 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: American Business Today

TRUE/FALSE

183. As the founder of an American business firm, Jeff Bezos can, within certain limits, produce and/or sell
any product he chooses and sell it at any price it sets.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 4


OBJ: 1-1 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Your Future in the Changing World of Business

184. In our free-enterprise system, federal and state governments decide what products and services to
provide.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 4


OBJ: 1-1 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Your Future in the Changing World of Business

185. A working knowledge of our business system combined with technical skills can give an applicant an
advantage in looking for a job.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 5


OBJ: 1-1 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Your Future in the Changing World of Business

186. After getting her bachelor's degree in business, Mary Wilson realized she was much more productive
at her job than she had been before. Mary's degree helped her to become a better employee.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 6


OBJ: 1-1 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Your Future in the Changing World of Business

44

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
187. Today, managers and employees are no longer concerned about cultural diversity.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 6


OBJ: 1-1 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Your Future in the Changing World of Business

188. Because e-businesses use the Internet, there is no need to meet the needs of their customers.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 8


OBJ: 1-1 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Your Future in the Changing World of Business

189. In order for a business to be successful, it must be organized, it must satisfy needs, and it must make a
profit.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 10


OBJ: 1-2 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Business: A Definition

190. The four resources that a business must use to operate successfully include material resources, human
resources, financial resources, and operational resources.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 10


OBJ: 1-2 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Business: A Definition

191. Generally there are three types of businesses⎯manufacturing businesses, service businesses, and
marketing intermediaries.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 10


OBJ: 1-2 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Business: A Definition

192. Sony is most correctly classified as a marketing intermediary type of business.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p.10


OBJ: 1-2 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Business: A Definition

193. People buy goods and services simply to own them.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 10


OBJ: 1-2 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Business: A Definition

194. The ultimate goal of every business firm should be to satisfy the needs of its customers.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 10


OBJ: 1-2 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Business: A Definition

195. If a firm's sales revenue exceeds its expenses, the firm has earned a profit.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 11


45

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
OBJ: 1-2 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Business: A Definition

196. Profit is the payment business owners receive for assuming the risks of ownership.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 12


OBJ: 1-2 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Business: A Definition

197. The term stakeholders refers only to the people who have invested money in a business.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 11


OBJ: 1-2 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Business: A Definition

198. Economics is the study of how wealth is created and distributed.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 12


OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

199. How the price of homes affects the number of homes built and sold would be an economic issue
studied in a Macroeconomics course.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 12


OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

200. Macroeconomists often study the effect of taxes, government spending, interest rates, and similar
factors on a nation's economy.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 12


OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

201. The factors of production include natural resources, labor, government assistance, and
entrepreneurship.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 12-13


OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

202. The four basic questions in a capitalist economy are what to produce, how to produce, who should
produce, and when to produce.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 13


OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

203. Adam Smith is the person who actually organized American business as we know it today.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 13


OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

204. According to Adam Smith, under laissez-faire capitalism, each person should be allowed to work
toward his or her own economic gain without government interference.
46

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 14
OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

205. Adam Smith argued that the creation of wealth is a proper concern of government.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 14


OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

206. Adam Smith developed the concept of the invisible hand to explain how all economic activity should
be based on a nation's needs and not the individual's needs.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Diff. REF: p. 14


OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

207. A market economy is sometimes referred to as a command economy.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 14


OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

208. The U.S. business system is commonly referred to as a mixed economy.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 15


OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

209. Consumer goods make up about one-third of our nation's gross national product.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 15


OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

210. Consumers exchange tax money to purchase goods and services.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 15


OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

211. A business provides goods and services in exchange for sales revenues.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 15


OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

212. When a business distributes profits to business owners, these profits become household income and are
removed from the circular flow of the economy.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 15


OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

47

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
213. The services that government provides would not be produced by private business firms or would be
produced only for those who could afford them.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 16


OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

214. The government uses taxes to purchase resources and products required to provide services.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 16


OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

215. Command economies include capitalism, socialism, and communism.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 16


OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

216. In a socialist economy, the key industries are owned and controlled by the government.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 16


OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

217. Karl Marx is known as the father of communism.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 17


OBJ: 1-3 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Economic Systems

218. Productivity is the total output per worker per year.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 17


OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

219. Reducing costs and enabling employees to work more efficiently are at the core of all attempts to
improve productivity.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 18


OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

220. Fewer workers producing more goods and services can lead to higher overall employment rates.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Diff. REF: p. 18


OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

221. Gross domestic product is a loose, subjective measure of how well a society can satisfy its people
through goods and services.

48

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 18
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

222. The terms real gross domestic product and gross domestic product can be used interchangeably.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 18


OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

223. Real gross domestic product is an economic measure that has been adjusted for price increases of
goods and services during a given period of time.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 18


OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

224. Inflation is a general rise in the level of prices experienced by people in a nation.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 18


OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

225. Deflation is a general decrease in the level of prices.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 18


OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

226. The consumer price index (CPI) and the producer price index (PPI) actually measure the same
economic factors.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 19


OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

227. The recurrence of periods of growth and recession in a nation's economic activity is a depression.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 20


OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

228. During the peak or prosperity stage of a nation's business cycle, businesses are reluctant to offer new
products and services.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Diff. REF: p. 20


49

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

229. Economists define a recession as two or more consecutive three-month periods of decline in a
country's gross domestic product.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 20


OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

230. A depression is a severe recession that lasts longer than a recession.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 20


OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

231. Monetary policies exert the government's influence on the amount of savings and expenditures by
altering the tax structure and changing the levels of government spending.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 21


OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

232. The national debt in the United States is about $12.7 trillion.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 21


OBJ: 1-4 NAT: AACSB: Analytic
TOP: Measuring Economic Performance

233. Basically, there are four recognized degrees of competition: perfect competition, monopolistic
competition, oligopoly, and monopoly.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 21


OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Competition

234. Perfect competition is the market situation in which a product has many buyers and sellers, and no
single buyer or seller is powerful enough to affect a product's price.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 22


OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Competition

235. As the price of a product increases, the amount of the product that a producer is willing to supply
increases.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 22


OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Competition
50

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
236. As the price of a product increases, the amount of the product that consumers purchase increases.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 22


OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Competition

237. The equilibrium or market price exists when the supply of a product exceeds the amount that
consumers are willing to purchase.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 22-23


OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Competition

238. The products available in a monopolistically competitive market are similar in nature and are intended
to satisfy the same need.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Diff. REF: p. 23


OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Competition

239. An oligopoly is a market situation in which there is one producer and a few large buyers.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 23


OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Competition

240. In a monopoly situation, there is no close substitute for the product or service.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 24


OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Competition

241. A copyright of a product exists indefinitely.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 24


OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Competition

242. A legal monopoly is often referred to as a natural monopoly.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 24


OBJ: 1-5 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: Types of Competition

243. A factory system of manufacturing involves the separation of a manufacturing process into separate
tasks and the assignment of different tasks to different employees.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 26


OBJ: 1-6 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: American Business Today

244. Specialization is meant to increase the efficiency of industrial workers.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 26


OBJ: 1-6 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: American Business Today
51

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
245. Typical service businesses in the U.S. include real estate, repair companies, and restaurants.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 27


OBJ: 1-6 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: American Business Today

246. During the 1930s, government became deeply involved in business for the first time.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 26


OBJ: 1-6 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: American Business Today

247. Because of technology and the Internet, the use of information by business managers has increased.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: p. 26


OBJ: 1-6 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: American Business Today

248. According to global experts, India is the fastest-growing economy in the world.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Mod. REF: p. 27


OBJ: 1-6 NAT: AACSB: Analytic TOP: American Business Today

52

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
Aboyne, being aware that Montrose’s intention was to storm the
bridge, drew all his forces to its defence. In a valley, at a small
distance from the bridge, Montrose stationed the flower of his army,
and, with the rest, including the waggoners and other followers of the
camp, to make a more formidable appearance, made a feint as if he
intended to ford the river above the bridge. This stratagem
succeeded, for Aboyne instantly withdrew the greater part of his
forces to oppose them, and thus left the most important station
almost at the mercy of the enemy. The ambuscade rose immediately,
and advanced even to the cannons’ mouths. The artillery, however, of
that period, was not so formidable as it is now. It was ill-served, ill-
directed, and did little execution. A brisk engagement took place at
the bridge, which, however, was maintained but a few minutes; for
the Covenanters, clearing the bridge of its defenders, and quickly
removing the barricades, opened to the right and left a path for their
cavalry, who drove the citizens off the field with considerable loss.
Aboyne returned quickly with his men to assist the citizens, but their
courage was now damped with their loss; so that, by the first charge
of the Covenanters, their ranks were broken, and they began to fly in
every direction. It was no longer a battle but a rout. The Covenanters
hewed down without mercy their flying enemies; and, so exasperated
were they at their obstinate fickleness in former times, that the more
merciful among them were hardly able to obtain quarter for those
who confessed themselves vanquished. Aboyne, with great exertion,
having rallied one hundred horse, made for the town, determined if
possible to defend it. Montrose dispatched a party after him, and
both, plunging their rowels into their horses’ sides, dashed forward
over friends and enemies indiscriminately, and arrived close at each
other’s heels in the town. There was no possibility of shutting the
gates; so both entered by St Nicholas Fort at the same instant. The
intention of Aboyne was thus frustrated, and he found it not an easy
matter to escape with his followers by the Gallowgate Port.
The inhabitants had waited with breathless expectation the event
of this day’s battle, and had in some measure made up their minds in
case of Aboyne’s failure. But the anticipation fell far short of the
reality. The town was in the possession of the enemy. At every
turning of the streets there were parties engaged in desperate
combat, while the troops of cavalry that occasionally passed
sometimes trampled down both friend and foe, never more to rise.
The poor citizens were endeavouring to escape from the place with
whatever of their effects they could lay hands on. The aged were
feebly endeavouring to leave the resting-place of their youth. Wives,
mothers, and sisters were searching in tears for their friends, while a
loud and piercing shriek announced the agony of the maidens when
informed of the death of their betrothed. The innocent children in
the confusion were left to wander, neglected by their guardians,—and
the records from which this tale is compiled say, that a little boy and
girl, who were twins, while wandering hand-in-hand in the streets,
unconscious of danger, were crushed by the coursers’ hoofs, while
their mother was hastening to remove them from danger. But why
dwell upon the horrors of this scene?
On a signal given, Basil forded the Dee with his followers, and
advanced to the city. Having taken possession of his post, he kept
himself on the alert, to restrain any irregularity among his men,
which the scene before them was but too well calculated to
superinduce. The town was given up to be pillaged. It had been set
on fire in different places; therefore it required the utmost attention
to prevent his followers from mingling with their companions. He
had remained at his post a considerable time, when he heard a
piercing shriek in a voice well known to him. He sprang to the place
whence it seemed to come, and beheld Mary Leslie struggling with a
Covenanter, who was plundering her of the trinkets that adorned her
dress. “Villain!” said he, drawing his sword; but the exclamation put
the Covenanter on his guard. He aimed a fearful blow at him, but the
Covenanter’s blade, being of better temper than Basil’s, stood the
blow, while the other was shivered into a thousand pieces. The
Covenanter’s weapon was now within a few inches of his breast,
when Basil, in a state of desperation, enveloped his hand in his cloak,
and seizing the blade suddenly, bent it with such force that it
snapped at the hilt—when, seizing a partisan that lay near him, he
dealt the Covenanter such a blow with it as felled him to the earth.
Basil then hastily asked Mary what she did here.
She informed him that the soldiers had broken into the house in
search of plunder, and that she had been obliged to fly when she met
with the Covenanter. He asked her where her father was. She told
him, weeping, that forty-eight of the principal citizens, along with
her father, had been bound, and cast into the common prison.
“Then,” said he, “you must allow me to conduct you to a place of
safety.”
“No, Basil, I cannot. My dear father”——
“He is in no danger; and this is no place for maidens;” and running
speedily for his horse, he placed her, more dead than alive, behind
him, and galloped out of the town.
When he returned, which was about eight, the confusion had in a
great measure ceased; the magistrates, by a largess of 7000 merks,
having prevailed on Montrose to put a stop to the pillage. When Basil
came near to his post, he discovered that the house had been
plundered, and that an attempt had been made to set it on fire.
Montrose and his suite were standing before it; his father was also
there, and ran to meet him.
“Thank God, my son, that thou art come. This,” looking round him,
“this looks not like treason.”
“Come hither, Basil Rolland,” said Montrose, “and answer me
truly. My bowels yearn for thee; yet if what is testified against thee be
true, though thou wert my mother’s son, God do so to me, and more
also, if thou shalt not die the death. Why—why, young man, didst
thou desert the important trust assigned to thee?”
Basil told the naked truth.
“Thou hast done wrong, young man; yet thy father, thy youth,
thine inexperience, all—all plead with me for thee.”
“Heaven bless you, my lord, for the word,” said Isaac Rolland. “My
life for it, he is innocent!”
“Believe me,” said Montrose, “I would fain that he were so. There
is not in his eye the alarmed glance of conscious guiltiness. Answer
me again, didst thou not join the camp with traitorous intent? Didst
thou not, last night, under cloud of darkness, betake thee to the camp
of the enemy to tell the Viscount of Aboyne what thou knewest about
the strength and intentions of the host?”
The truth and falsehood were here so blended together, that Basil
betrayed signs of the greatest confusion, and was silent.
“Nay, now,” said Montrose, “he denies it not; his confusion betrays
him. One of the sentinels discovered him,—the very man against
whom he this day drew the sword for a prelatemonging maiden.
Young man, this hath destroyed my aversion to sacrifice thee; and
the good cause demands that such treachery pass not unpunished. If
thou hast any unrepented sin, prepare thyself; for yet two days, and
thou art with the dead. Bind him, soldiers; and on the second day
hence let him suffer the punishment due to his crimes.”
“Stop, my lord,” said Isaac Rolland, “and shed not innocent blood.
O cut not down the flower in the bud! Exhaust your vengeance on
me; but spare, oh, spare my son!”
“Entreaty avails not. My duty to the host demands it. And know, I
do nothing but what I wish may be my own lot if I betray the good
cause. If I betray it, may my best blood be spilled on the scaffold, and
may the hangmen put on my shroud!”
This was spoken in an inflexible and enthusiastic tone; but he
knew not that he was condemning himself. His wish was
accomplished; for they who had that day witnessed his proud desire,
ere many years, saw one of his mangled limbs bleaching over the city
gates. Basil was led off by the guards; while his father, unable to
follow, stood speechless and motionless as a statue.
Chapter V.
Farewell, ye dungeons, dark and strong,
The wretch’s destinie;
Macpherson’s time will not be long
On yonder gallows-tree.—Old Song.

Basil Rolland was conducted into one of the cells of the common
prison, and, notwithstanding his excitement, fell into a profound
slumber; but it was of that troubled kind which nature obtains by
force when the mind is disposed for watchfulness. He imagined
himself by the sea, on a beautiful summer evening, walking with his
love by the murmuring shore. On a sudden they were separated; and
he, in a small boat, was on the bosom of the ocean. The tempest was
raging in all its grandeur, and the unwilling bark was whirling and
reeling on the mountainous waves; it struck upon a rock, and was
dashed into a thousand pieces. He felt the waters rushing in his ears;
he saw the sea-monsters waiting for their prey; and his bubbling
screams filled his own heart with horror. He sunk—but the waters
receded and receded, till he stood firmly on a dry rock. A vast plain
was around him—a black and barren wilderness, without one plant,
one shrub, or one blade of grass. It lay stretched before him, as far as
his eye could reach, the same dismal, monotonous scene of
desolation. On a sudden, the mists that covered its termination were
dispelled, and piles of rocky mountains, whose tops touched the
clouds, began to close around him. A vast amphitheatre of smooth
and perpendicular stone surrounded him, and chained him to the
desert. The rocky walls began to contract themselves, and to move
nearer to the spot where he stood. Their summits were covered with
multitudes of spectators, whose fiendish shout was echoed from rock
to rock, until it fell upon his aching ear. Wild, unearthly faces were
before him on every side; and fingers pointed at him with a
demoniacal giggle. The rocks still moved on. The narrow circle on
which he stood was darkened by their height—he heard the clashing
of their collision—he felt his body crushed and bruised by the
gigantic pressure. He raised his voice to shriek his last farewell; but
the scene was changed. The grave had given up her dead; and the
sea, the dead that were in her. He was among the companions of his
childhood; and not one was wanting. The jest and the game went on
as in the days of his youth. His departed mother awaited his return;
but her kiss of welcome blenched his cheek with cold. Again he was
involved in a scene of strife. The death-bearing missiles were
whizzing around him; but he had not the power to lift an arm in his
own defence. A supernatural energy chained him to the spot, and
paralysed all his efforts. A gigantic trooper levelled his carbine at
him; the aim was taken deliberately; he heard the snap of the lock; he
saw the flash of fire; he gave a loud and piercing shriek, and awoke in
agony, gasping for breath.
The sun was shining through the grated window when he awoke,
weak and exhausted by his unrefreshing sleep. He found the sober
form of the Covenanting preacher seated beside his pallet, with a
small Bible in his hand.
“I thought it my duty,” said the preacher, “to visit thee, and mark
how thou bearest thyself under this dispensation, and to offer thee
that consolation, in the name of my Master, which smoothes the
passage to the tomb.”
“You have my thanks,” said the unfortunate youth. “Have you
waited long in the apartment?”
“I came at daybreak; but often was I tempted to rouse thee from
thy slumbers, for thy dreams seemed terrifying.”
“I have indeed passed a fearful night. Fancy has chased fancy in
my scorching brain till it appeared reality. But I can spend only
another such night.”
“I grieve to tell thee, young man, that thy days are numbered: all
the intercession of thy father and his friends hath been fruitless. I
also talked to James of Montrose concerning thee; for I hold that he
hath overstretched the limit of his power, and that there is no cause
of death in thee: but he treated me as one that mocketh, when I
unfolded the revealed will of God, that the earth will not cover
Innocent blood; wherefore turn, I beseech thee, thine eyes to the
Lord,—for vain is the help of man. Look to the glory on the other side
of the grave. Fear not them which can kill the body, but after that can
have no power; but fear Him that can cast both soul and body into
hell.”
“I fear not, father; I fear not death. I could close my eyes for ever
on the green land of God without a sigh. Had death met me in the
field, the bugle would have sung my requiem, and I would have laid
me on the turf, happy in being permitted to die like a man; but to die
like a thief—like a dog—is fearful and appalling. Besides, there are
ties which bind to earth souls stronger than mine. Alas! alas! what is
the common approach of Death to the stealthy and ignominious step
with which he visits me!”
“Compose thyself,” said the preacher, “and let these earthly wishes
have no place in thy thoughts. Time, to thee, is nearly done, and
eternity is at hand. Approach thy Creator, as the Father of Mercy, in
His Son. Murmur not at His dispensations; for He chasteneth in
love.”
“A hard lesson!” said Basil. “Tell me, didst though ever love a wife,
a son, or a daughter?”
“I lost a wife and a son,” said the preacher with emotion.
“In what manner?” said Basil.
“I visited the west country, on business of the Congregation, and in
my absence the hand of Death was busy in my house. When I
returned, my wife and son were both beneath the sod. But God’s will
be done! They are now in heaven,” said he, while the tears stole down
his cheeks.
“And,” said Basil, “did you never feel a desire again to see them?
Did you not wish that the decree of fate had been altered, and that
your family had been again restored to you?”
“Often—often,” said he, wringing his hands. “God forgive me! often
have I murmured at His dispensation. At some seasons I would have
bartered my life—nay, my soul’s weal—for one hour of their society.”
“And yet ye bid me do that which ye confess to be above your
efforts! You lost but your wife and child; I lose my own life—my fame
—my Mary.”
“But your father”——
“Peace! I have no father—no friend—no love. To-morrow’s sun will
see me as I was before my being; all of me gone, except my name
coupled with hated murderers and traitors. Away, away, old man! it
drives me to madness. But, if the spirits of the dead can burst the
sepulchre, I will be near my murderer. In the blackness of night I will
be near him, and whisper in his thoughts dark, dark as hell.”
“Have patience”——
“Patience! Heaven and earth! Remove these bonds,” said he,
striking his manacles together till the vaulted roof echoed the
clanking. “Give me my sword,—place Montrose before me,—and I’ll
be patient! very patient!”—and he burst into a fit of hysterical
laughter which made the preacher shudder.
“Prepare to meet thy God, young man,” exclaimed the Covenanter.
He succeeded in gaining his attention, and resumed: “Thy thoughts
are full of carnal revenge, forgetting Him who hath said, ‘vengeance
is mine.’ I tell thee that thy thoughts are evil, and not good. Turn
thyself to thy Saviour, and, instead of denouncing woe on thy fellows,
prepare thyself for thy long journey.”
“Long, indeed!” said Basil, entering into a new train of ideas. “Ere
to-morrow’s sun go down, my soul, how far wilt thou have travelled?
Thou wilt outstrip the lightning’s speed. And then, the account! I am
wrong, good man; but my brain is giddy. Leave me now,—but,
prithee, return.”
“I shall see thee again. Put thy trust in the Lord. Compose thy
troubled mind, and God be with thee! Thy father is soliciting thy
pardon; and he bade me tell thee he would visit thee to-day. I’ll go to
Montrose myself,—for he shall pardon thee.”
The day following, a dark gibbet frowned in the centre of the
market-place, erected in the bore of the millstone which lies at this
day in the middle of Castle Street. At an early hour the whole square
was filled with spectators to witness the tragedy. A powerful band of
the Covenanters guarded the scaffold. A deep feeling of sympathy
pervaded the multitude, for the wretched prisoner was known to
almost every individual. Every one was talking to his neighbour on
the distressing event, with an interest which showed the intensity of
their sympathy with the sufferer.
“Willawins! willawins!” said an aged woman; “I suckled him at this
auld breast, and dandled him in these frail arms. On the vera last
winter, when I was ill wi’ an income, he was amaist the only ane that
came to speir for me; an’ weel I wat, he didna come toom-handed. I
just hirpled out, because I thought I wad like to see his bonny face
and his glossy curls ance mair; but I canna thole that black woodie! It
glamours my auld een. Lord be wi’ him! Eh, sirs! eh, sirs!”
“Vera right, cummer,” said Tenor the wright; “it’s a waesome
business. Troth, ilka nail that I drave into that woodie, I could have
wished to have been a nail o’ my ain coffin.”
“And what for stand ye a’ idle here?” said a withered beldame,
whom Basil had found means to save from being tried for witchcraft,
which, as the reader is aware that “Jeddart justice” was administered
on these occasions, was tantamount to condemnation. “Why stand ye
idle here? I’ve seen the time when a’ the Whigs in the land dauredna
do this. Tak the sword! tak the sword! The day ’ill come when the
corbies will eat Montrose’s fause heart, and”——
“Whisht, sirs! whisht!” exclaimed several voices; and there was a
rush among the crowd, which made the whole mass vibrate like the
waves of the sea. It was the appearance of our hero, surrounded by a
guard of the insurgents. His arms were bound. The cart followed
behind; but he was spared the indignity of riding in it. It contained
the executioner, a miserable-looking man, tottering in the extremity
of old age. It also bore the prisoner’s coffin. His demeanour was calm
and composed, his step firm and regular; but the flush of a slight
hectic was on his cheek. He was attended by the Covenanting
preacher, whom, on his coming out, he asked, “If she knew of this?”
He whispered in his ear. “Then the bitterness of death is past;” and
the procession moved on. These were the last words he was heard to
utter. He never raised his eyes from the ground till he reached the
scaffold, when, with a determined and convulsive energy, he bent his
eyes upon the scene before him. It was but for a moment; and they
sank again to the earth, while his lips were moving in secret prayer.
We must now retrograde a little in our story, to mark the progress
of two horsemen, who, about noon, were advancing with the utmost
rapidity to Aberdeen. These were Isaac Rolland and Hackit, Provost
Leslie’s servant. To explain their appearance here, it will be
necessary to notice some events of the preceding day. Isaac Rolland
and his friends had applied earnestly to Montrose for the repeal of
his hasty sentence; and their representations seemed to have great
weight with him. He told them to return early next morning to
receive his answer. At the first peep of day Isaac was at his lodgings,
and found, to his surprise and sorrow, that news had arrived of the
pacification of Berwick late the evening before, and that Montrose
had instantly taken horse for the south. There was no time to be lost,
and, accompanied by Hackit, he set out on horseback to Arbroath,
where Montrose was to rest for a little, and reached it as the other
was preparing to depart.
The pardon was readily granted, as peace was now established
between all the king’s subjects. Montrose, moreover, acknowledged
that he had proceeded too hastily.
They accordingly set out on their journey, and spared neither whip
nor spur, lest they should arrive too late. They changed horses at
Dunottar, and rode on to Aberdeen with all the speed they could
make. When about six miles from the town, Isaac Rolland’s horse
broke down under him, when Hackit, who was better mounted,
seized the papers, and, bidding him follow as fast as possible, pushed
on. The noble animal that bore him went with the speed of lightning,
but far too slowly for the impatient rider. Having shot along the
bridge of Dee at full gallop, he arrived at Castle Street, by the
Shiprow with his horse panting and foaming, while the clotted blood
hung from the armed heels of his rider.
“A pardon! a pardon!” shouted Hackit, as he recklessly galloped
over and through the thick-set multitude, and lancing to the quick
his horse’s sides with his deep rowels at every exclamation. “A
pardon! a pardon!” cried he, advancing still faster, for the rope was
adjusted, and all was ready for the fatal consummation. “Lord hae
mercy on him!” His horse with one bound brought him to the foot of
the scaffold, and then dropped down dead, while a loud execration
burst from the spectators, which drowned his cries. The prisoner was
thrown off just in Hackit’s sight as he advanced, the Covenanters
having dreaded that this was the beginning of some commotion. He
threw the sealed pardon at the head of the commandant, and,
mounting the scaffold, cut the cord in a twinkling, letting the body
fall into the arms of some of the crowd who had followed him; and,
quicker than thought, conveyed him into an adjacent house, where
every means was tried to restore animation. There was not one who
could refrain from tears when they compared the crushed and
maimed being before them with the jovial young man he was a few
days before. His eyes, bleared and bloodshot, were protruded from
their sockets; a red circle surrounded his neck, and the blood,
coagulated under his eyes, showed the effects of strangulation. After
some time he heaved a sigh, and attempted to raise his right hand to
his breast; his intention was anticipated, and a picture that hung
round his neck was put into his hand. At this moment Mary Leslie
entered the apartment. A tremulous shuddering ran through his
frame; he attempted to raise himself, but life ebbed by the effort,
and, with a deep groan, he fell back into the arms of death. Mary
Leslie, however, did not witness his departure, for she had sunk
senseless on the floor. When she recovered, all was calm, save her
eye which rolled with the quickness of insanity.
“Hush!” said she; “he sleeps, and you will waken him. I’ll cover
him with my own plaid, for it is cold—cold.” She set herself to cover
him, and sang the verse of the ballad—
My love has gone to the good green wood
To hunt the dark-brown daes;
His beild will be the ferny den,
Or the shade of the heathery braes.
But I’ll build my love a bonny bower——

“Basil, awake! the old man waits you at the Playfield—arise! He hears
me not—ha—I remember!” and she sank again on the floor, and was
carried home by her friends.
A fair company of young men bore Basil to his grave; and by his
side a weeping band of maidens carried Mary Leslie. They were
lovely in their lives, and in death they were not separated. One grave
contains them both, which was long hallowed by the remembrance of
this tragical transaction. The sacred spot has now become common
ground, and I have searched in vain for it, that I might shed one tear
to the memory of the unfortunate lovers.
The goodwill of his fellow-citizens called Patrick Leslie several
times to be their chief magistrate; but life to him had lost its savour,
and he lingered for several years in this world as one whose hopes
and enjoyments were elsewhere. It was said that Isaac Rolland, at
stated intervals, visited the grave of his son, and watered it with the
tear of unavailing sorrow. He afterwards involved himself with the
factions that tore the kingdom asunder, and, it was supposed,
perished at the battle between the Covenanters and Oliver Cromwell,
at Dunbar, in 1650.—Aberdeen Censor.
THE LAST OF THE JACOBITES.

By Robert Chambers, LL.D.

I had occasion to mention, at the conclusion of my “History of the


Insurrection of 1745,” that after that period the spirit of Jacobitism
became a very different thing from what it had formerly been; that,
acquiring no fresh adherents among the young subsequent to that
disastrous year, it grew old, and decayed with the individuals who
had witnessed its better days; and that, in the end, it became
altogether dependent upon the existence of a few aged enthusiasts,
more generally of the female than the male sex.
These relics of the party—for they could be called nothing else—
soon became isolated in the midst of general society; and latterly
were looked upon, by modern politicians, with a feeling similar to
that with which the antediluvian patriarchs must have been regarded
in the new world, after they had survived several generations of their
short-lived descendants. As their glory lay in all the past, they took
an especial pride in retaining every description of manners and dress
which could be considered old-fashioned, much upon the principle
which induced Will Honeycomb to continue wearing the wig in
which he had gained a young lady’s heart. Their manners were
entirely of that stately and formal sort which obtained at the
commencement of the eighteenth century, and which is so
inseparably associated in the mind of a modern with ideas of full-
bottomed perukes, long-backed coats, gold-buckled shoes, and tall
walking canes. Mr Pitt’s tax, which had so strong an effect upon the
heads of the British public, did not perhaps unsettle one grain of
truly Jacobite powder; nor is it hypothetical to suppose that the
general abandonment of snuff-taking by the ladies, which happened
rather before that period, wrenched a single box from the fingers of
any ancient dame, whose mind had been made up on politics, as her
taste had been upon black rappee, before the year of grace 1745.
In proportion as the world at large ceased to regard the claims of
the house of Stuart, and as old age advanced upon those who still
cherished them, the spirit of Jacobitism, once so lofty and so
chivalrous, assimilated more and more with the mere imbecility of
dotage. What it thus lost, however, in extensive application, it gained
in virulence; and it perhaps never burned in any bosoms with so
much fervour as in those few which last retained it. True, the
generosity which characterised it in earlier and better times had now
degenerated into a sort of acrid humour, like good wine turned into
vinegar. Yet, if an example were wanting of the true inveterate
Jacobite, it could not be found anywhere in such perfection as
amongst the few who survived till recent times, and who had carried
the spirit unscathed and unquenched through three-quarters of a
century of every other kind of political sentiment.
As no general description can present a very vivid portraiture to
the mind, it may be proper here to condescend upon the features of
the party, by giving a sketch of an individual Jacobite who was
characterised in the manner alluded to, and who might be
considered a fair specimen of his brethren. The person meant to be
described, might be styled the Last of the Jacobites; for, at the
period of his death in 1825, there was not known to exist, at least in
Edinburgh, any person, besides himself, who refused to acknowledge
the reigning family. His name was Alexander Halket. He had been, in
early life, a merchant in the remote town of Fraserburgh, on the
Moray Firth; but had retired for many years before his death, to live
upon a small annuity in Edinburgh. The propensity which
characterised him, in common with all the rest of his party, to regard
the antiquities of his native land with reverence, joined with the
narrowness of his fortune in inducing him to take up his abode in the
Old Town.
He lodged in one of those old stately hotels near the palace of
Holyroodhouse, which had formerly been occupied by the noblemen
attendant upon the Scottish court, but which have latterly become so
completely overrun by the lower class of citizens. Let it not be
supposed that he possessed the whole of one of these magnificent
hotels. He only occupied two rooms in one of the floors or “flats” into
which all such buildings in Edinburgh are divided; and these he
possessed only in the character of a lodger, not as tenant at first
hand. He was, nevertheless, as comfortably domiciled as most old
gentlemen who happen to have survived the period of matrimony.
His room—for one of them was so styled par excellence—was cased
round with white-painted panelling, and hung with a number of
portraits representing the latter members of the house of Stuart,
among whom the Old and Young Chevaliers were not forgotten.[15]
His windows had a prospect on the one hand of the quiet and
cloistered precincts of Chessels’ Court, and on the other to the gilded
spires and gray, time-honoured turrets of Holyroodhouse. Twice a
year, when he held a card party, with three candles on the table, and
the old joke about the number which adorn that of the laird of Grant,
was he duly gratified with compliments upon the comfortable nature
of his “room,” by the ancient Jacobite spinsters and dowagers, who,
in silk mantles and pattens, came from Abbeyhill and New Street to
honour him with their venerable company.
15. Some rascally picture-dealer had imposed upon him a nondescript daub of
the female face divine as a likeness of the beautiful Queen Mary. How he
accomplished this it is not easy to say; probably he was acquainted with Mr
Halket’s ardent devotion to the cause of the house of Stuart, at every period of its
history, and availed himself of this knowledge to palm the wretched portrait upon
the old gentleman’s unsuspecting enthusiasm. Certain it is that the said portrait
was hung in the place of honour—over the mantelpiece—in Mr Halket’s apartment,
and was, on state occasions, exhibited to his guests with no small complacency.
Many of his friends were, like himself, too blindly attached to everything that
carried a show of antiquity to suspect the cheat; and others were too good-natured
to disturb a harmless delusion, from the indulgence of which he derived so much
satisfaction. One of them, however, actuated by an unhappy spirit of
connoisseurship, was guilty of the cruelty of undeceiving him, and not only
persuaded him that the picture was not a likeness of the goddess of his idolatry,—
Queen Mary,—but possessed him with the belief that it represented the vinegar
aspect of the hated Elizabeth. Mr Halket, however, was too proud to acknowledge
his mortification by causing the picture to be removed, or perhaps it might not
have been convenient for him to supply its place; and he did not want wit to devise
a pretext for allowing it to remain, without compromising his hostility to the
English queen one whit. “Very well,” said he, “I am glad you have told me it is
Elizabeth; for I shall have the pleasure of showing my contempt of her every day by
turning my back upon her when I sit down to table.”
Halket was an old man of dignified appearance, and generally
wore a dress of the antique fashion above alluded to. On Sundays
and holidays he always exhibited a sort of court-dress, and walked
with a cane of more than ordinary stateliness. He also assumed this
dignified attire on occasions of peculiar ceremony. It was his custom,
for instance, on a particular day every year, to pay a visit to the
deserted court of Holyrood in this dress, which he considered alone
suitable to an affair of so much importance. On the morning of the
particular day which he was thus wont to keep holy, he always
dressed himself with extreme care, got his hair put into order by a
professional hand, and, after breakfast, walked out of doors with
deliberate steps and a solemn mind. His march down the Canongate
was performed with all the decorum which might have attended one
of the state processions of a former day. He did not walk upon the
pavement by the side of the way. That would have brought him into
contact with the modern existing world, the rude touch of which
might have brushed from his coat the dust and sanctitude of years.
He assumed the centre of the street, where, in the desolation which
had overtaken the place, he ran no risk of being jostled by either
carriage or foot-passenger, and where the play of his thoughts and
the play of his cane-arm alike got ample scope. There, wrapped up in
his own pensive reflections, perhaps imagining himself one in a
court-pageant, he walked along, under the lofty shadows of the
Canongate,—a wreck of yesterday floating down the stream of to-day,
and almost in himself a procession.
On entering the porch of the palace he took off his hat; then,
pacing along the quadrangle, he ascended the staircase of the
Hamilton apartments, and entered Queen Mary’s chambers. Had the
beauteous queen still kept court there, and still been sitting upon her
throne to receive the homage of mankind, Mr Halket could not have
entered with more awe-struck solemnity of deportment, or a mind
more alive to the nature of the scene. When he had gone over the
whole of the various rooms, and also traversed in mind the whole of
the recollections which they are calculated to excite, he retired to the
picture-gallery, and there endeavoured to recall, in the same manner,
the more recent glories of the court of Prince Charles. To have seen
the amiable old enthusiast sitting in that long and lofty hall, gazing
alternately upon vacant space and the portraits which hang upon the
walls, and to all appearance absorbed beyond recall in the
contemplation of the scene, one would have supposed him to be
fascinated to the spot, and that he conceived it possible, by devout
wishes, long and fixedly entertained, to annul the interval of time,
and reproduce upon that floor the glories which once pervaded it,
but which had so long passed away. After a day of pure and most
ideal enjoyment, he used to retire to his own house, in a state of
mind approaching, as near as may be possible on this earth, to
perfect beatitude.[16]
16. He paid a visit, in full dress, with a sword by his side, to the Crown Room,
in Edinburgh Castle, immediately after the old regalia of the kingdom had been
there discovered in 1818. On this occasion a friend of the author saw him, and
endeavoured to engage him in conversation, as he was marching up the Castle Hill;
but he was too deeply absorbed in reflection upon the sacred objects which he had
to see, to be able to speak. He just gazed on the person accosting him, and walked
on.
Mr Halket belonged, as a matter of course, to the primitive
apostolical church, whose history has been so intimately and so
fatally associated with that of the house of Stuart. He used to attend
an obscure chapel in the Old Town; one of those unostentatious
places of worship to which the Episcopalian clergy had retired, when
dispossessed of their legitimate fanes at the Revolution, and where
they have since performed the duties of religion, rather, it may be
said, to a family, or at most a circle of acquaintances, than to a
congregation. He was one of the old-fashioned sort of Episcopalians,
who always used to pronounce the responses aloud; and, during the
whole of the Liturgy, he held up one of his hands in an attitude of
devotion. One portion alone of that formula did he abstain from
assenting to—the prayer for the Royal Family. At that place, he
always blew his nose, as a token of contempt. In order that even his
eye might not be offended by the names of the Hanoverian family, as
he called them, he used a prayer-book which had been printed before
the Revolution, and which still prayed for King Charles, the Duke of
York, and the Princess Anne. He was excessively accurate in all the
forms of the Episcopalian mode of worship; and indeed acted as a
sort of fugleman to the chapel; the rise or fall of his person being in
some measure a signal to guide the corresponding motions of all the
rest of the congregation.
Such was Alexander Halket—at least in his more poetical and
gentlemanly aspect. His character and history, however, were not
without their disagreeable points. For instance, although but humbly
born himself, he was perpetually affecting the airs of an aristocrat,
was always talking of “good old families, who had seen better days,”
and declaimed incessantly against the upstart pride and consequence
of people who had originally been nothing. This peculiarity, which
was, perhaps, after all, not inconsistent with his Jacobite craze, he
had exhibited even when a shopkeeper in Fraserburgh. If a person
came in, for instance, and asked to have a hat, Halket would take
down one of a quality suitable, as he thought, to the rank or wealth of
the customer, and if any objection was made to it, or a wish
expressed for one of a better sort, he would say, “That hat, sir, is
quite good enough for a man in your rank of life. I will give you no
other.” He was also very finical in the decoration of his person, and
very much of a hypochondriac in regard to little incidental maladies.
Somebody, to quiz him on this last score, once circulated a report
that he had caught cold one night, going home from a party, in
consequence of having left off wearing a particular gold ring. And it
really was not impossible for him to have believed such a thing,
extravagant as it may appear.
THE GRAVE-DIGGER’S TALE.

It was one cold November morning, on the day of an intended


voyage, when Mrs M‘Cosey, my landlady, tapped at my bed-chamber
door, informing me that it was “braid day light;” but on reaching the
caller air I found, by my watch and the light of the moon, that I had
full two hours to spare for such sublunary delights as such a
circumstance might create. A traveller, when he has once taken his
leave, and rung the changes of “farewell,” “adieu,” “goodbye,” and
“God bless you,” on the connubial and domestic harmonies of his last
lodgings, will rather hazard his health by an exposure to the “pelting
of the pitiless storm,” for a handful of hours, than try an experiment
on his landlady’s sincerity a second time, within the short space of
the same moon. If casualty should force him to make an abrupt
return, enviable must be his feelings if they withstand the cold
unfriendly welcome of “Ye’re no awa yet!” delivered by some
quivering Abigail, in sylvan equipment, like one of Dian’s foresters,
as she slowly and uninvitingly opens the creaking door—a
commentary on the forbidding salute. He enters, and the strong
caloric now beginning to thaw his sensibilities, he makes for his
room, which he forgets is no longer his; when, though he be still in
the dark, he has no need of a candle to enable him to discover that
some kind remembrancer has already been rummaging his corner
cupboard, making lawful seizure and removal (“‘convey’ the wise it
call”) of the contents of his tea-caddy, butter-kit, sugar-bowl, and
“comforter;” to which he had looked forward, on his return, as a
small solace for the disappointment of the morning, affording him
the means of knocking up a comfortable “check,” without again
distressing the exchequer.
I had therefore determined not to return to Mrs M‘Cosey’s; for
“frailty, thy name is woman;” and I felt myself getting into a sad
frame of mind, as I involuntarily strolled a considerable distance
along the high road, pondering on the best means of walking “out of
the air,” as Hamlet says, when, as the moon receded behind a black
cloud, my head came full butt against a wall; the concussion making
it ring, till I actually imagined I could distinguish something like a
tune from my brain. Surely, said I, this is no melody of my making;
as I now heard, like two voices trolling a merry stave—
Duncan’s comin’, Donald’s comin’, &c.

Turning round to the direction from whence the sound seemed to


proceed, I perceived I was in the neighbourhood of the “Auld Kirk
Yard;” where, by the light from his lantern, I could discover the old
grave-digger at work—his bald head, with single white and silvery-
crisped forelock, making transits over the dark line of the grave, like
a white-crested dove, or a sea-gull, flaunting over the yawning gulf.
One stride, and I had cleared the wall of the Auld Kirk Yard.
“You seem merry, old boy!—You are conscious, I presume, that
this world has few troubles that can affect you in your present
situation—the grave.”
“I was takin’ my medicine to keep my heart up, sir; but I wasna
merry: yet I’m content wi’ my station, and am a thocht independent.
I court the company o’ nae man alive; I boo to nae man breathin’—I
quarrel nane wi’ my neebours;—yet am I sought after by high and
low, rich and puir; the king himsel maun come under my rule—this
rod of airn;—though I’m grown frail and feckless afore my time: for
healthy as my looks be, I’m aye, aye at death’s door; our work, ye see,
sir, ’s a’ below the breath; and that’s a sair trade for takin’ the wind
oot o’ a body. Then, I hae my trials,—sair visitations, sic as fa’ to the
lot o’ nae man on this side the grave but mysel! It’s true, that when
the wind gaes round merrily to the east, I get a sma’ share o’ what’s
gaun; but just look at that yird, sir,—as bonnie a healthy yird as ane
could delight to lie in;—neist, look at that spear,—a fortnight’s rust
upon that dibble! Mind, I downa complain;—Live, and let live, say I!
“But what’s the use of talkin’ sae to a life-like, graceless, thochtless,
bairn-getting parish?—the feck o’ whom, after having lived on the fat
o’ the kintra-side, naething will sair, but they maun gang up to the
town to lay their banes amang the gentles, and creesh some hungry
yird wi’ their marrow! The fa’ o’ the leaf is come and gane; an’ saving
some twa or three consumptions—for whilk the Lord be thankit, as a
sma’ fend—tak the parish a’ ower head—frae head to tail—and for
ane that gaes out at my gate-end, ye’ll find a score come in at the
howdie’s!”
“Damna famæ majora quam quæ æstimari possint.”[17]
17. The loss of reputation is greater than can be reckoned.
“I hae lost my Gaelic, sir; but ye speak like a sensible man. The
fame o’ the place is just as ye say, there’s ower mony merry pows
in’t. But see, there’s a sober pow, wi’ a siller clasp on’t.”
“With all due gravity, may I ask, whose property was that?”
“Hech, man! that’s a skeigh tune for a dry whistle; sae, gin ye
please, we’ll tak our morning first.”
So saying, he took his spade, and cutting steps in the side of the
grave he was digging, he mounted to the surface; then, walking off a
few paces, I saw him strike some dark substance lying on a flat stone;
when, to my astonishment, a Flibbertigibbet-looking creature
unrolled itself, from a mortcloth, at my feet.
“Hannibal Grub, my ’prentice, sir, at your service.—Hawney, tak
the shanker ower to Jenny Nailor’s, an’ bring a dooble-floorer to the
gentleman; an’, hear ye, say it’s for the minister’s wife—fourpenny
strunt, Grub, mind—nae pinchin’. If ye meet his reverence, honest
man, tell him ye’re gaun for oil to the cruizie.”
“That auld wizzened pow is a’ that’s left o’ the Laird o’ Nettleriggs.
It was lying face down, when I cam till’t this morning, maist horrifu’
to see; for he maun hae turned in his kist, or been buried back
upwards! It was ae blawy, sleety nicht, about this time twal-year,
when I was sent for express to speak wi’ the laird. Thinkin’ that he
maybe wanted the family lair snodded out, or a new coat o’ paint to
the staunchels, I set out without delay. I had four mile o’ gate to gang
on a darksome dreary road, an’ I couldna but say that I felt mair eerie
than I had ever felt in my ain plantin’, amang honest folk. Sae, wi’
your leave, I’ll just put in ane o’ Jenny’s screws, afore I gae ony
farther. Here’s wishing better acquaintance to us, sir.—Is this frae
the ‘Broon Coo,’ Grub?”
“Ay!” groaned an unearthly voice, as if the “Broon Cow” herself
had spoken.

You might also like