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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. According to Bryson, why are national parks and wilderness areas in the United States overcrowded?
(a) Because everyone brings their cars.
(b) Because people are tired of the cities.
(c) Because they are inexpensive to visit.
(d) Because too many people take their children.

3. According to Bryson, what is lacking in his New Hampshire town?
(a) Crime.
(b) Intelligent people.
(c) Good entertainment.
(d) Pollution.

4. What does Bryson think is sad about how things are changing in modern Vermont?
(a) More people now are born outside the state.
(b) The weather is warming up.
(c) Pollution is increasing.
(d) There are too many Canadians there.

5. In "The War on Drugs," what is wrong, according to Bryson, about the penalties for drug possession?
(a) He thinks the penalties should be harsher.
(b) He thinks the laws favor the rich.
(c) He thinks the laws favor the poor.
(d) He thinks the penalties for drug possession are too harsh.

6. What does Bill discuss at the beginning of his essay on design flaws?
(a) His wife's clothing.
(b) His son's running shoes.
(c) His daughter's jewelry.
(d) His son's jeans.

7. What does Bill say is a big improvement in America concerning business phone numbers?
(a) They are only four-digits.
(b) Business calls cannot be made into people's homes.
(c) They are preprogrammed on everyone's phone.
(d) The 1-800 numbers are easy to remember.

8. What does Bill find strange about some U.S. commercials?
(a) They cannot show cigarettes.
(b) They have laugh tracks.
(c) They advertise personal hygiene products.
(d) They can be 5 minutes long.

9. What British sport does Bill find dull but restful?
(a) Soccer.
(b) Rounders.
(c) Cricket.
(d) Polo.

10. What does Bill say about the barber in his new hometown?
(a) He is fresh out of barber school and eager to try new things.
(b) He only seems to know hairstyles from the 1950's.
(c) He reads more books than Bill does.
(d) He could talk the hind leg off a donkey.

11. What particular product in American supermarkets fascinates Bill?
(a) Meat.
(b) Laundry soap.
(c) Pet food.
(d) Cereal.

12. Why doesn't Bryson like gardening with his wife?
(a) She is English and thus an expert gardener.
(b) She screams if she sees any insects.
(c) She expects him to garden for hours at a time.
(d) He has to do all the work.

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

14. According to Bill, what is the outstanding quality of Americans?
(a) Their friendliness.
(b) Their ambition.
(c) Their sense of humor.
(d) Their business sense.

15. What does Bryson find amazing about the geography of the United States?
(a) That so much of the country is empty of people.
(b) That the United States has no Arctic region.
(c) That there is very little variety.
(d) That it is smaller than Canada.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Bill tell the reader about crime in New Hampshire?

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

3. When Bill phones the computer hotline to ask for help, what information do they ask him for first?

4. What disappeared in the north woods of New Hampshire in 1996 and was never found?

5. What does Bill like about having a college as part of he town he lives in?

(see the answer keys)

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