View a FREE sample

This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Bill say about the way people of the world eat?
(a) We eat a huge variety of things.
(b) There are thousands of foods but only a few are eaten a lot.
(c) Most people eat too much.
(d) Most people don't eat enough.

2. In the twenty years since Bryson left the United States, by how much have car numbers, roads, and mileage increased?
(a) By 100%.
(b) By 10%.
(c) By two times.
(d) By half.

3. What mistake did Bill make that made him realize that he, along with many others, needs product guidance?
(a) He injured himself with his letter opener.
(b) He left his bank card in the ATM.
(c) He bought some tobacco and then put it in the mailbox.
(d) He put his shoes on the wrong feet.

4. What is one activity that Bill is happy to return to in America?
(a) Shopping.
(b) Football.
(c) Paying taxes.
(d) Baseball.

5. According to Bill, which offense do the British commit that he takes offense to?
(a) Charging to use public bathrooms.
(b) Being rude.
(c) Sloppy parking.
(d) Not lining up for service.

6. What does Bill say that he has to remember about going into restaurants?
(a) To wait to be seated.
(b) You need to show identification.
(c) He has to remove his baseball cap.
(d) They don't sell alcoholic drinks in the local eateries.

7. How much does Bryson say the government spends on fighting drugs?
(a) $10 billion a year.
(b) $50 billion a year.
(c) $1 billion dollars a year.
(d) $500 million a year.

8. What does Bill say it would take over 31,000 years to do?
(a) Make the tax system fair.
(b) Pay off the national debt.
(c) Travel to Mars and back.
(d) Count a trillion dollars.

9. What does Bill hate about flying now that he is back in the U.S.?
(a) Having to show photo identification at the airport.
(b) The price of tickets.
(c) The snacks are terrible.
(d) No meals are served.

10. In "The Numbers Game," what does Bill say is beyond the comprehension of everyone?
(a) Why government workers get so many holidays.
(b) How tax money is spent.
(c) How much money huge sums really represent.
(d) How the government manages to get anything done.

11. Why does Bill feel going to a restaurant is a discouraging experience?
(a) He manages to antagonize the waitress.
(b) He's a picky eater.
(c) He's a vegan.
(d) He hates the high prices.

12. What does Bill find to be a difficult adjustment for him when he returns to the U.S.?
(a) He cannot find what he wants in the stores.
(b) He finds it very noisy.
(c) He left as a young man and came back middle-aged.
(d) He has forgotten American English.

13. How does Bryson begin "Tales of the North Woods?"
(a) He talks about using a snowmobile.
(b) He talks about a college student who left a party and died in the woods.
(c) He talks about shoveling snow.
(d) He talks about the town that disappeared, and no one has found it.

14. In "Lost at the Movies," which Jurassic Park movie did Bryson take his children to see?
(a) Lost Dinosaurs.
(b) Lost Innocence.
(c) Lost Appetites.
(d) Lost World.

15. How does Bill know so much about motels?
(a) He belongs to a motel club.
(b) He used to own one.
(c) He has stayed at thousands.
(d) He is reading a book called "The Motel in America."

Short Answer Questions

1. What product first reveals the popularity of toll-free hotline phone numbers to Bill?

2. Although the GDP is seen as a positive in economic terms, how does Bill say it can be negative?

3. What is Bill's wife's reaction to his new American haircut?

4. What does Bryson think is sad about how things are changing in modern Vermont?

5. Why did Bill decide to write "Friendly People?"

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 697 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample