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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. How is the term "highfalutin" introduced into the essay "Highfalutin"?
(a) This is what Sedaris and his sister Amy called their play production company.
(b) Tiffany calls Amy and Sedaris this when they are shopping together.
(c) Sedaris claims that this is what Hugh first wanted to call the Pink House.
(d) Sedaris suggests it as a name for a medication.

2. In "Highfalutin," who are Lex and Germalina?
(a) They are rabbits owned by Amy Sedaris.
(b) They are characters in a play produced by the Talent Family.
(c) They are nicknames that Sedaris and his siblings gave their parents.
(d) They are names Sedaris and his sister Amy used in a childhood game.

3. In "Themes and Variations," what singer does Sedaris tell a joke about?
(a) Willie Nelson.
(b) Waylon Jennings.
(c) Hank Williams.
(d) Merle Haggard.

4. In "Hurricane Season," what do Hugh and Sedaris discover about Sea Section's second-floor ceilings?
(a) They will have to be replaced without central air ducts.
(b) Rats were living in them before the hurricane.
(c) They were likely weakened by termites before the hurricane even hit.
(d) Because of new building codes, they will be very expensive to replace.

5. Where did Sedaris once unexpectedly find a gun?
(a) Under a bed.
(b) In a desk drawer.
(c) In a medicine cabinet.
(d) In a pantry.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Sedaris feel when Harrison tells him that he has never heard of Sedaris's books?

2. In "Highfalutin," what does Sedaris ultimately decide his idea of perfect happiness is?

3. In "Themes and Variations," what are the details of the airport McDonald's employee's appearance intended to convey?

4. Which word best captures Sedaris's depiction of Eastern European decor in "To Serbia with Love"?

5. In "Unbuttoned," which of Sedaris's siblings says that Lou is their best friend?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "Bruised," what "secret" does Sedaris believe Olivier has discovered, and why does he guess that Olivier is struggling to accept his new knowledge?

2. In "Father Time," what does Sedaris tell Harrison and Austen about whom they should try to be more like, and why?

3. In "A Speech to the Graduates," how does Sedaris describe his own college experience?

4. In "Themes and Variations," what experience does Sedaris say shaped his desire to interact warmly with his fans?

5. In "A Speech to the Graduates," what anecdote does Sedaris tell about the woman at the book-signing event, and what is this anecdote's rhetorical function?

6. In "To Serbia with Love," how does Sedaris describe the flea markets that he and Patsy visit in Eastern Europe?

7. In "Highfalutin," how does Sedaris say his adult experience in front of cameras reflects his role in the childhood game he played with Amy?

8. In "Highfalutin," what two things does Amy do while she and Sedaris are shopping that he finds funny but also mortifying?

9. In "Hurricane Season," what type of art does Hugh hang in the rental house, and how does Sedaris characterize a recent tenant's reaction to this art?

10. In "Father Time," how does Sedaris contrast his attentiveness to his father with that of his siblings?

(see the answer keys)

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