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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How many children under the age of 12 were living in the mid-1950s in America?

2. What word was not allowed on television in the 1950s?

3. What publication did most boys need to rely on to seem partially clothed girls?

4. In what year did the movie in #73 come out?

5. What was the area set apart in the grocery where kids could read while their parents shopped?

Short Essay Questions

1. What behaviors did teenagers exhibit in the 1950s?

2. What were some of the ways that boys could see glimpses of naked women?

3. What sorts of things did Bryson and other kids do to help pass the long days?

4. How did television change life for people in the 1950s?

5. What particular times were especially long for kids?

6. How many siblings did Bryson have?

7. What were the results on children of the U.S. bomb testings and what happened when the tests were moved underground?

8. What other accessories did Bryson need to become the Thunderbolt Kid?

9. What was Bryson's mother's main personality quirk?

10. What was Bryson's notion of how slowly time passed for kids?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Bryson is a master at dramatic devices. Choose an example of symbolism, metaphors, and irony, briefly describe them, and identify the technique which they embody.

Essay Topic 2

There are several events of foreshadowing in the stories. Define foreshadowing. Cite at least two situations in the stories that serve as foreshadowing.

Essay Topic 3

Bryson had respect for all of the people in the book but do you think he likes any one of them more than the others? Who would you choose to be your new friend among the people Bryson introduced in the book. Explain.

(see the answer keys)

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