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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. In "Bruised," what does Sedaris criticize as lacking charm?
(a) The English language.
(b) Big cities.
(c) Hypermarkets.
(d) Modern highways.

2. In "A Speech to the Graduates," what do the joke about the police stopping a car and the farcical benefit Sedaris promises for participating in his charity event have in common?
(a) Both involve religious persecution.
(b) Both involve non-consensual sexual contact.
(c) Both involve violence against minorities.
(d) Both involve common stereotypes about women.

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

4. In "To Serbia with Love," what nationality does Sedaris say is blamed for much of the crime in Europe?
(a) Greek.
(b) Romanian.
(c) Croatian.
(d) Albanian.

5. In "A Speech to the Graduates," what item does Sedaris tells students to not bother buying unless they can afford one of two specific brands?
(a) Running shoes.
(b) Stationery.
(c) Scented candles.
(d) Caviar.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "A Speech to the Graduates," what does Sedaris mention having purchased at Sotheby's?

2. In "Themes and Variations," who helps Sedaris choose a person to give money to at the public library?

3. In "Father Time," what does Sedaris say he was primarily interested in when he was Austen's and Harrison's age?

4. In "Bruised," what concern does Sedaris raise with Hugh about Olivier's aggressive behavior?

5. What does the Blue Mountain School District give its students to fight off an armed gunman?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "To Serbia with Love," what does Milos say was better about Yugoslavia under Tito than today's Serbia?

2. In "A Speech to the Graduates," what does Sedaris say frustrates him about talking to parents whose children want to be writers?

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

4. In "Active Shooter," what contrast does Sedaris see between the drills he recalls in his own elementary school and the ones being practiced today?

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

6. In "Active Shooter," what is the rhetorical purpose of the anecdote about Lisa believing a story she read in The Onion?

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

8. In "To Serbia with Love," what criticism does Sedaris level against the American tourists Patsy deals with in Paris?

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

10. In "Highfalutin," how does Sedaris describe Amy's writing and acting?

(see the answer keys)

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