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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. When does Wallace realize he is no longer a Midwesterner?
(a) When he can't understand the accent.
(b) When he notices he dresses differently.
(c) When he realizes he can't enjoy the carnival.
(d) When he gets lost on a farm.

2. Wallace learns that people enter the Junior Livestock Competition for ______.
(a) Their parents.
(b) Fame.
(c) Pride.
(d) Money.

3. Why was Wallace sent to the state fair?
(a) Because he used to work for one.
(b) Because he volunteered.
(c) Because he is a native.
(d) Because he enjoys them.

4. What do the stall in the Expo Building sell?
(a) State propaganda.
(b) Handmade crafts.
(c) Camping equipment.
(d) Television infomercial products.

5. Two women who mistake Wallace for working for Harper's Bazaar compliment him on his magazine's _________.
(a) Design.
(b) Advice.
(c) Recipes.
(d) Editing.

Short Answer Questions

1. On his second day of the desert competition, why does Wallace repeatedly use the bathroom?

2. What television show does Wallace compare the cloggers to?

3. Why did Wallace have a more difficult time playing tennis in New England?

4. Gilder believes technology can be solved with ________.

5. After discussing sexual harassment with Native Companion, what does Wallace realize about East Coast women?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Wallace feel the Desert Competition is appropriate for Illinois?

2. To Wallace, is he still a Midwesterner? Why or why not?

3. Why did the students argue with their professor's position that works should make no reference to a specific time period?

4. What is the idea of Image-Fiction? Why does it exist?

5. How does Wallace suggest a writer rebel against the "new ironic orthodoxy"?

6. Was Wallace a "boring" tennis player? How so?

7. According to Wallace, why does television seem real?

8. Does Wallace see the events at the Desert Competition as being safe? Why or why not?

9. Does Wallace's visit to the stockyard barns affect Wallace at all? Why or why not?

10. According to Wallace, are commercials self-aware? What is the effect of this on the viewer?

(see the answer keys)

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