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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How many "new" consumer products does Bryson say are launched every year in the United States?
(a) 2,000.
(b) 2 million.
(c) 25,000.
(d) 250,000.

2. What is Bryson satirizing in "Your New Computer"?
(a) Bill Gates.
(b) Computer salespeople.
(c) Computer manuals.
(d) Computer stores.

3. According to Bryson, what makes up for the long New England winters?
(a) Going south for a month.
(b) They are stunningly pretty.
(c) The roaring fire in his study.
(d) Playing board games with his kids.

4. Why does Bryson have to buy a whole new computer and fax system when he returns to the United States?
(a) All his electronics got lost on the way.
(b) His kids were tired of using the family's 1980s model.
(c) He'd never owned a computer but now needed one for work.
(d) The British have a different electrical system.

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

6. What does Bryson like to do when he picks up his mail on winter mornings?
(a) Test his tolerance for the cold.
(b) Give his snowblower a work out.
(c) Take a thermos of hot tea with him.
(d) Walk his dog.

7. What does Bryson find the most "mind-numbing" feature of modern television?
(a) There are too many so-called experts on too many talk shows.
(b) The commercial breaks.
(c) The same shows are shown over and over.
(d) There are so many good programs and not enough time to watch them.

8. Bryson says there are three types of stores. The first is where you cannot get anyone to help you, and the second is full of clerks who will not leave you alone. What does he say about the third type?
(a) All the clerks have just started working there and do not know a thing.
(b) When you ask about something, the clerk has to ask the manager, who is never around.
(c) The clerks spend all their time talking to each other.
(d) No matter what you ask about, they say it's in "aisle seven."

9. What does Bryson fondly remember about highway travel when he was a boy?
(a) The billboards.
(b) The scenery.
(c) The rest stops.
(d) The lack of transport trucks.

10. What was Bryson disappointed about on his book tours?
(a) The waiting in stores for people to show up.
(b) That he had to sign so many books.
(c) Interviewers who knew nothing about his book.
(d) Hotel room service.

11. Which decade saw the idea of the drive-in really take off?
(a) The 1960s.
(b) The 1930s.
(c) The 1950s.
(d) The 1940s.

12. What does Bryson do in the section called "Life's Mysteries"?
(a) Talks about unsolved murder cases in New Hampshire.
(b) Asks questions about things he doesn't understand.
(c) Answers questions about things most people don't understand.
(d) Wonders why the English act the way they do.

13. What house feature does Bryson miss from his childhood?
(a) The screened porch.
(b) The back shed.
(c) The out house.
(d) The spare bedroom.

14. According to Bryson, which of his sons might one day become a libel lawyer?
(a) Tommy.
(b) Jimmy.
(c) Joey.
(d) Tim.

15. What is the main point Bryson is making in "Your Tax Form Explained"?
(a) It is easy to understand.
(b) Paying taxes is unavoidable.
(c) No one should try to fill out a tax return.
(d) That it is very confusing.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "On Losing a Son," why does Bryson decide to play baseball with his youngest child?

2. What is Bryson astonished to find on his plane on a flight from Boston to Denver?

3. In "Highway Diversions," how does Bryson like to pass the time when he is driving on the highway?

4. When Bryson takes his family to one of the last drive-ins in the area, what is the experience like?

5. In "The Flying Nightmare," what job does Bryson say his father had?

(see the answer keys)

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