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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through The Great Indoors, Death Watch, In Praise of Diners, Shopping Madness, The Fat of the Land, Your New Computer, How to Rent a Car, The Wasteland, The Flying Nightmare and Enough Already.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In "The Flying Nightmare," what job does Bryson say his father had?
(a) A singer.
(b) A pilot.
(c) A sportswriter.
(d) A salesman.

2. According to Bryson, what is the result of the "abundance of choice" in America?
(a) A simple way of life.
(b) A lot of happy people.
(c) A lot of time wasted.
(d) A lot of rich business owners.

3. What does Bryson hate about Christmas?
(a) The music.
(b) Getting the decorations out of the attic.
(c) Buying gifts.
(d) The expense.

4. In "Design Flaws," what does Bill complain about, in regards to his computer?
(a) The CD player.
(b) The keyboard.
(c) The monitor.
(d) The hard drive.

5. What movie is Bryson describing at the beginning of "The Wasteland"?
(a) Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
(b) The Brady Bunch.
(c) Avatar.
(d) Magnificent Obsession.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Bill discuss at the beginning of his essay on design flaws?

2. What does Mrs. Bryson tell her husband about Maggie that cheers him up?

3. How does Bill know so much about motels?

4. In "The Numbers Game," what does Bill say is beyond the comprehension of everyone?

5. Bryson and his wife see their son off to a university. Where is the university?

(see the answer key)

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