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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Trillin states that while on a trip to a foreign country, the main subject for discussion by American tourists is ...
(a) How much a hotel room cost.
(b) How much it rains.
(c) How much it snows.
(d) How much a melon cost.

2. Which of the following best describes "Of Dragons and Garden Peas"?
(a) A New Yorker piece written by Calvin Trillin.
(b) A children's book that Alice reads to her daughters.
(c) A film that Alice produces for PBS.
(d) A New England Journal of Medicine piece written by Alice.

3. What is Alice's professional background?
(a) Alice is a model and actress.
(b) Alice is an English professor.
(c) Alice is a politician.
(d) Alice is a film editor.

4. Finish this sentence: Calvin states that if he works in a corporate job ...
(a) Alice helps him prepare for sales presentations.
(b) Alice helps him move up the corporate ladder.
(c) Alice prevents him from climbing the corporate ladder.
(d) Alice competes with him for a job.

5. What does Mina do to cheer herself up, and to lift the spirits of those around her?
(a) She dresses nicely.
(b) She plants flowers.
(c) She plays the piano.
(d) She plays inspirational songs.

6. What word does Calvin use to describe the hotel room about which he argues with his wife while on a business trip?
(a) Luxurious.
(b) Spacious.
(c) Spartan.
(d) Dirty.

7. When Calvin and Alice fid themselves in a hotel room that is not as they expect, what do they do?
(a) They check out and immediately go home.
(b) They move to another hotel.
(c) They make the best of it.
(d) They complain to hotel management.

8. What is the name of the City College program in which Alice teaches under-prepared students?
(a) CITY.
(b) CUNY.
(c) STAT.
(d) SEEK.

9. In chapter five, what does Calvin state about his conversation with Alice's doctor following her bypass operation?
(a) He is disappointed that Alice no longer is able to participate in charades.
(b) He has new reason to hope.
(c) He begins to feel scared.
(d) He is disappointed that Alice no longer is able to play tennis.

10. What assumption does Alice make before she marries Calvin?
(a) She is relatively well-off after she marries Calvin.
(b) She has to make due with modest possessions after she marries Calvin.
(c) She is the breadwinner in her marriage to Calvin.
(d) She is very wealthy after she marries Calvin.

11. Which phrase best describes Alice's religious views?
(a) Alice is somewhere between uninterested and hostile when it comes to religion.
(b) Alice is a devout Jew who raises her children with traditional religious values.
(c) Alice is outspoken about her views on the importance of attending church as a family.
(d) Alice converts to Catholicism as an adult.

12. In chapter five, an article on what subject in the Times enraged Alice?
(a) A cigarette smoking lounge.
(b) Cancer.
(c) A cigarette smoking ban.
(d) Shopping.

13. Why does Calvin not want to pay the contractor more money than he originally quotes for their home project?
(a) He steals Alice's fur coat.
(b) He breaks the banister.
(c) He does a bad job on the project.
(d) The estimated should be correct before starting the project.

14. Alice serves on the board of what organization for children with cancer and other illnesses?
(a) SEEK.
(b) Transitions.
(c) Connecticut Woods.
(d) The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp.

15. Where does Calvin and Alice purchase their first home?
(a) Long Island.
(b) New Jersey.
(c) New York City.
(d) Nova Scotia.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to Calvin, what is the definition of an intellectual?

2. What is the name of the book that Alice writes based on a letter she writes?

3. In chapter four, an encounter is described taking place in an elevator between Alice and a young boy with cancer. What does he say about her type of cancer?

4. Trillin states that his goddaughter marries into a family with some involvement in what kind of industry?

5. In chapter five, which movie is referenced?

(see the answer keys)

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