View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. According to Bryson, what problem does he have with relating to New Englanders?
(a) They love winter and winter sports.
(b) They never watch television.
(c) They never want any "alone time."
(d) They don't trust people who read books.

3. What does Bryson say about the long trip and back to take his son to college?
(a) Travelling by car is one of his favorite things.
(b) It was sad.
(c) It was quick.
(d) Travelling on American highways is dull.

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

5. 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.

6. 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 thinks the boy has a chance to be professional.
(c) He realizes the little boy is growing up.
(d) He wants him to learn an American sport.

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

8. What do New Englanders call the tourists who come to New England in the fall?
(a) Leaf peepers.
(b) Tree crazies.
(c) Leaf lovers.
(d) Tree huggers.

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

10. According to Bryson, what did people in the past do when they flew?
(a) Bought insurance for every flight.
(b) Dressed up for it.
(c) Got sick a lot.
(d) Ate and drank through the whole flight.

11. What does Bryson say about the New England summers?
(a) They are boring.
(b) They are short.
(c) They are dull and rainy.
(d) They are too hot.

12. What is Bryson astonished to find on his plane on a flight from Boston to Denver?
(a) Am armed guard.
(b) An inflated dinghy.
(c) An entire hockey team.
(d) A chimpanzee.

13. What was the "Millennium Bug" about, in regards to computers?
(a) No royalties would be paid to computer developers after that date.
(b) At midnight on January 1, 2000 all computers might shut down.
(c) It was a new very tiny computer.
(d) It was an extremely destructive virus.

14. What does Bryson say about computer energy consumption at the beginning of "The Waste Generation"?
(a) That a lot of energy is consumed by computers left on at night.
(b) That computer manufacturers could fix the high consumption very easily.
(c) That computer users need to be educated.
(d) That computer use should be restricted to a few hours a day.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Enough Already," which item comes in 18 varieties in American supermarkets?

2. What house feature does Bryson miss from his childhood?

3. 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?

4. What does Bryson do in the section called "Life's Mysteries"?

5. When looking for a place to live in the United States, what was the only thing Bryson liked about Adams, Massachusetts?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 732 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample