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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. Who is Khe Sahn in "Season's Greetings..."?
(a) Clifford's illegitimate daughter
(b) Kevin's illegitimate daughter
(c) The Dunbar's maid
(d) Kevin's girlfriend

2. Who are the readers of "Giantess" magazine?
(a) People who love erotic stories about large women
(b) People who want tips for becoming giantesses
(c) People who secretly want to be giants
(d) People who want tips for slaying giantesses

3. Which of the following is NOT a topic of discussion when the narrator works renovating an apartment?
(a) Art
(b) Windows
(c) Death
(d) Women

4. What does the narrator order at the hotel bar in "After Malison"?
(a) A daiquiri
(b) A martini
(c) A soda
(d) A boilermaker

5. What is the author's opinion of his mother's housekeeper's skills in "The Curly Kind"?
(a) He believes she is the most skilled housekeeper he has ever seen.
(b) He believes she spends too much time vacuuming.
(c) He is ambivalent towards her.
(d) He believes she is a lazy, incompetent housekeeper.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why did Vicki quit chorus during her sophomore year of high school in "Jamboree"?

2. Where does a mother instruct her son to pee in "Santaland Diaries"?

3. In "Season's Greetings", what television show does Khe Sahn learn most of her English from?

4. Who does Sedaris impersonate singing "Away in the Manger" while working with Santa Santa in "Santaland Diaries"?

5. What game do the narrator and his siblings play during Christmas in "Diary of a Smoker"?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the author feel about adults who dress in costumes for their jobs in "Santaland Diaries"? How does he believe he will be different if he is hired as one of Santa's elves?

2. Which elf duty is the narrator's least favorite in "Santaland Diaries"? Why does he feel this way?

3. Describe Khe Sahn's arrival at the Dunbar home in "Season's Greetings to Our Friends and Family".

4. Describe the experience of visiting the oldest Santa in "Santaland Diaries".

5. Who is Jamboree in "Jamboree"? How does the narrator feel about him?

6. How does Jocelyn feel about her daughter's marriage to Timothy Speaks in "Season's Greetings..."? How does this compare to her feelings about her grandson, Don?

7. How does the narrator of "Diary of A Smoker" feel about smoking?

8. Describe the narrator's elf costume in "Santaland Diaries".

9. Describe Dolph's confrontation with Alicia Cunningham in "Barrel Fever".

10. What story does Sedaris tell the little boy Riley when he throws a temper tantrum in "Santaland Diaries"?

(see the answer keys)

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