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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What do the author and another elf realize about the name 'Santa' in "Santaland Diaries"?
(a) It sounds like 'Satan'.
(b) It is said by visitors at least 2 million times a day.
(c) It is an anagram of 'Satan'.
(d) It has two 'a's in it.

2. What is the author's elf name in "Santaland Diaries"?
(a) Crumpet
(b) Sleighbell
(c) Walrus
(d) Usher

3. Why did Vicki quit chorus during her sophomore year of high school in "Jamboree"?
(a) She hated her music teacher.
(b) The music teacher told her she had no talent.
(c) She decided to take Art instead.
(d) Her brother talked her out of enrolling in chorus.

4. Who is Timothy Speaks in "Season's Greetings..."?
(a) Clifford's illegitimate son
(b) Jocelyn's brother
(c) Jackelyn's husband
(d) Jocelyn's boyfriend

5. Why does the narrator of "Diary of a Smoker" schedule a doctor's appointment?
(a) His insurance is about to expire.
(b) He wants cosmetic surgery.
(c) He is having health issues.
(d) He wants to quit smoking.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which of the following is NOT a topic of discussion when the narrator works renovating an apartment?

2. What is Snowball, the elf known for in "Santaland Diaries"?

3. Who does Sedaris impersonate singing "Away in the Manger" while working with Santa Santa in "Santaland Diaries"?

4. How does the author's bedroom differ from the rest of his childhood home in "The Curly Kind"?

5. Which celebrity does the narrator feel the need to point out to visitors to Santa Land in "Santaland Diaries"?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Jocelyn feel about her daughter's marriage to Timothy Speaks in "Season's Greetings..."? How does this compare to her feelings about her grandson, Don?

2. What do IV and PCD stand for in "Barrel Fever"? What is the significance of these acronyms for the narrator?

3. Describe Kyle Dunbar in "Season's Greetings to Our Family and Friends".

4. What does the narrator do to Marty's motorcycle in "Jamboree"? Who does Marty believe is responsible for the damages?

5. Describe Santa Santa in "Santaland Diaries".

6. What story does Sedaris tell the little boy Riley when he throws a temper tantrum in "Santaland Diaries"?

7. Who is Jamboree in "Jamboree"? How does the narrator feel about him?

8. Which elf duty is the narrator's least favorite in "Santaland Diaries"? Why does he feel this way?

9. Describe Dolph's confrontation with Alicia Cunningham in "Barrel Fever".

10. What disgusts the narrator of "After Malison" the most during his master's writing seminar?

(see the answer keys)

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