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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Bryson and his wife see their son off to a university. Where is the university?
(a) Ohio.
(b) North Carolina.
(c) Canada.
(d) California.

2. How was the first "drive-in" movie shown in New Jersey in the 1930's?
(a) In a tennis court.
(b) On Richard Hollingshead's garage door.
(c) On a school's outside wall.
(d) In a deserted baseball park.

3. What does Mrs. Bryson tell her husband about Maggie that cheers him up?
(a) Maggie had to have her jaw wired shut for dental work.
(b) Maggie dyed her hair, and it turned green.
(c) Maggie had moved to Boston.
(d) Maggie had made herself sick on vegetarian stew.

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

5. In "On Losing a Son," why does Bryson decide to play baseball with his youngest child?
(a) He is tired of working on his writing.
(b) He wants him to learn an American sport.
(c) He thinks the boy has a chance to be professional.
(d) He realizes the little boy is growing up.

6. What does Bryson say the reason might be for being bewildered with modern television?
(a) His kids like to watch a lot of shows that are just junk.
(b) His eyesight and hearing are failing.
(c) He cannot follow the plot lines of the cop shows.
(d) In the America of his youth, and in England, there were only 4 channels.

7. What does Bryson comment on as being a strange development in the world of exercise?
(a) Actually paying large amounts to join a gym.
(b) Driving one's car to the gym
(c) Retired people meeting at malls to have their daily walk.
(d) That it is a multi-million dollar industry.

8. What does Bryson say Americans are very resistant to in the field of energy?
(a) Raising the price of gasoline even slightly.
(b) Driving smaller cars.
(c) Using less gasoline.
(d) Finding alternative sources of energy.

9. Which American tourist attraction does Bryson describe as a "Total Indoor Environment"?
(a) Las Vegas.
(b) Opryland.
(c) Yellowstone Park.
(d) Disney World.

10. What do the British celebrate on December 26th?
(a) Little Christmas.
(b) Boxing Day.
(c) Epiphany.
(d) St. Paul's Day.

11. In "How to Rent a Car," what does Bryson find especially frustrating about the process?
(a) The options he is offered.
(b) The limits on passengers.
(c) The mileage charges.
(d) How and where to drop it off.

12. What surprising statistic does Bryson share about the number of lawyers in America?
(a) There is a shortage of them.
(b) There is 1 lawyer for every 1,000 people.
(c) There is 1 lawyer for every 1,000,000 people.
(d) There are more of them in the United States than the rest of the world put together.

13. What is Bryson's opinion of book tours?
(a) They are very educational.
(b) They are boring.
(c) They are a waste of time.
(d) They are kind of fun.

14. How did Bryson describe his first run on a snowmobile?
(a) As awesome.
(b) As too slow for him.
(c) As a waking nightmare.
(d) As a jolly good time.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What is Bryson's observations on the conveniences of life in America in the 1990s?

2. In "The Waste Generation," what does Bryson think is getting worse in the United States, compared to his youth?

3. When Bryson had his first book published, what did his publisher send him to?

4. Bryson compares modern airplanes to _______________.

5. According to Bryson, what is the result of the "abundance of choice" in America?

(see the answer keys)

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