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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. Why does Wallace get ill on his first day at the desert competition?
(a) Because he hasn't slept.
(b) Because he eats too much.
(c) Because it's too hot.
(d) Because he rode a rollercoaster.

2. Gilder believes technology can be solved with ________.
(a) Less technology.
(b) More reading.
(c) More technology.
(d) More culture.

3. According to Wallace, how do commercials respond to the pressure for people to stop watching so much television?
(a) Commercials convince people television is reality.
(b) Commercials convince people they need television.
(c) Commercials convince people they need more products.
(d) Commercials convince viewers they are smart.

4. Wallace's thesis is that irony and ridicule are simultaneously entertaining and _______.
(a) Enlightening.
(b) Disparaging.
(c) Intelligent.
(d) Confusing.

5. Why does Wallace call his tennis style "creative"?
(a) It accepts nature.
(b) It ignores convention.
(c) It's like a dance.
(d) It is basic.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who does Wallace believe is the ultimate outsider?

2. According to Wallace, why does watching television beget more television?

3. What was Image-Fiction a response to?

4. Why can't Wallace watch the car race?

5. What does Wallace blame for his failure as a tennis player in college?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. According to Wallace, was Image-Fiction successful? Why or why not?

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

4. How does sexual harassment make a clear distinction between Eastern and Midwestern women for Wallace?

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

6. Why was Wallace assigned to the Illinois State Fair article for Harper's?

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

8. After listening to Governor Jim Edgar's speech, how does Wallace feel about Illinois? Why?

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

10. How does Wallace feel about the setting for "Lost Highway"? Why does he feel this way?

(see the answer keys)

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