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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Why Everyone Is Worried, The Risk Factor, The War on Drugs, Dying Accents, Inefficiency Report, Why No One Walks, Wide-Open Spaces, Snoopers at Work, Lost at the Movies and Gardening with my Wife.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Bill Bryson like about his new home town?
(a) It has a great college.
(b) It has great shopping.
(c) It is close to Boston.
(d) It is a suburb.

2. How does Bill know so much about motels?
(a) He used to own one.
(b) He has stayed at thousands.
(c) He belongs to a motel club.
(d) He is reading a book called "The Motel in America."

3. In "Room Service," what does Bill say the Motel Inn in California is famous for?
(a) Being owned by Zorro.
(b) Being used in a lot of movies.
(c) Being the first to use the word "motel."
(d) Being built over buried treasure.

4. What does Bill find to be a difficult adjustment for him when he returns to the U.S.?
(a) He cannot find what he wants in the stores.
(b) He finds it very noisy.
(c) He left as a young man and came back middle-aged.
(d) He has forgotten American English.

5. Why did Bill decide to write "Friendly People?"
(a) Because he thought it would be funny.
(b) Because his editor wanted him to.
(c) Because he had to make good on a bet.
(d) Because his wife told him all he did was complain in his columns.

Short Answer Questions

1. Bryson says that 94% of Americans' trips from home involve the use of something in particular. What is that item?

2. What does Bill discuss at the beginning of his essay on design flaws?

3. According to Bryson, why did a store in Michigan win a case brought against them by a customer?

4. When Bill phones the computer hotline to ask for help, what information do they ask him for first?

5. How does Bill explain the popularity of motel chains in America?

(see the answer key)

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