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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 "A Speech to the Graduates," what does Sedaris mention having purchased at Sotheby's?
(a) A Picasso painting.
(b) A Piguet watch.
(c) A first-edition copy of Tom Sawyer.
(d) A Ming-Dynasty vase.

2. In "Unbuttoned," what question does Lou ask his children?
(a) Whether he is going to die.
(b) Whether they miss their mother.
(c) Whether they forgive him.
(d) Whether he is real to them.

3. What is the name of the nursing home that Lou moves into?
(a) Mayview.
(b) Springmoor.
(c) Oakpointe.
(d) Hillcrest.

4. In "Highfalutin," what feature that he and Amy share embarrasses Sedaris at lunch?
(a) Thinning hair.
(b) Dental problems.
(c) Poor posture.
(d) Sagging skin.

5. What comedian also named "David" do the nurses confuse Sedaris with in "Father Time"?
(a) Cross.
(b) Chappelle.
(c) Letterman.
(d) Spade.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Unbuttoned," what item of Sedaris's does he find in his father's room at Springmoor?

2. In "A Speech to the Graduates," what does Sedaris say causes the resiliency of people in their early twenties?

3. In "A Speech to the Graduates," what is Sedaris's purpose in mentioning the speaker at his own graduation?

4. In "Unbuttoned," what does Sedaris take away from the story about Russ Baker's mother?

5. In "To Serbia with Love," what nationality does Sedaris say is blamed for much of the crime in Europe?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. In "Active Shooter," how is Lisa's concern about what she saw at Starbucks used as the basis for a joke later in the essay?

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

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

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

6. In "Hurricane Season," how does Sedaris depict Hugh's attention to detail as a benefit of their relationship?

7. What decision did Lou make about his will that upset Sedaris, and why was it so upsetting?

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

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

10. In "Unbuttoned," what irony does Sedaris recognize when Gretchen asks him to write Lou's obituary?

(see the answer keys)

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