Name: _________________________ | Period: ___________________ |
This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. In what year was the Cuban Missile Crisis?
2. In what year did the first shopping mall open in Des Moines?
3. Who was the only former member of the club in #164 who was allowed to remain?
4. What was the landscape like in the area where Bryson's grandparents lived?
5. What did Bryson and his friends do at the venue in #149?
Short Essay Questions
1. What were Bryson's favorite books in school and why did he like them?
2. Describe the situation in which Bryson realized he could not trust adults.
3. What happened to The Thunderbolt Kid's sacred jersey?
4. Describe the Audio Visual Club and why the boys were anxious to join.
5. Describe the events surrounding Bryson's finally getting into the strippers' tent at the state fair.
6. What was the recovery process for Bryson's broken leg?
7. What did Bryson learn about his parents that pleased him and how did this change his views of his real parentage?
8. Where did Bryson's grandparents live and what did he love about the place?
9. What did the adult Bryson recall about the Des Moines of his youth?
10. How did the very long winter season impact the school children?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Describe the overall settings for the book. What is important about each setting as it is revealed? What are the time periods of the stories? How important are the time periods to the attitudes and issues of the people?
Essay Topic 2
Create a character study of Bill Bryson. What are his physical characteristics? What are his personality traits? What are his motivations? What are his fears? What else can you say about Bryson?
Essay Topic 3
Create a character study of Bryson's parents. What were their physical characteristics? What were their motivations? What were their fears? What were their dreams? What else can you say about Bryson's parents?
This section contains 1,044 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |