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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In "Room Service," what does Bill say the Motel Inn in California is famous for?
(a) Being owned by Zorro.
(b) Being used in a lot of movies.
(c) Being the first to use the word "motel."
(d) Being built over buried treasure.

2. Bryson says that 94% of Americans' trips from home involve the use of something in particular. What is that item?
(a) A credit card.
(b) A cell phone.
(c) A snack.
(d) A car.

3. What does Bill say about his hair?
(a) He is losing it quickly.
(b) He has "very happy" hair.
(c) He always covers it with a hat.
(d) He wants to color the gray.

4. Bryson likes his privacy. Where does he especially find there is a lack of privacy in America?
(a) On airplanes.
(b) In public washrooms.
(c) In clothing store changing rooms.
(d) In telephone booths.

5. What part of the house does Bill regard as delightful and pretty much the same in every American household?
(a) The laundry room.
(b) The attic.
(c) The family room.
(d) The basement.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why doesn't Bryson like gardening with his wife?

2. In the twenty years since Bryson left the United States, by how much have car numbers, roads, and mileage increased?

3. What does Bryson say that all New Englanders do?

4. What did the town of Laconia, New Hampshire, have to do about its new sidewalks and benches in its town center?

5. In "The War on Drugs," what is wrong, according to Bryson, about the penalties for drug possession?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "The Inefficiency Report," Bryson says "Our subject today is large-scale incompetence in my native land." Give some examples of what he believes are areas of incompetence in 1990s America.

2. In "A Visit to the Barbershop," how does Bryson convey that adjusting to the small town barbershop is difficult?

3. How does Bryson support his statement that summer movies "have become so dumb, so very, very dumb" (Essay "Lost at the Movies")?

4. "The Cupholder Revolution" details the proliferation of cupholders. What does Bryson have to say about them?

5. Bryson calls America "the ultimate shopping paradise" in "Consuming Pleasures." How does he support this statement?

6. In "Coming Home" Bryson says he is "gamely assessing" the concept of not being able to go home again. What circumstances took him away from the United States in the 1970s? How did he spend the following two decades in England? What is his reaction on returning to the United States in 1996?

7. Why does Bryson find going to a restaurant in the United States so difficult, as expressed in "What's Cooking"? How does he address the issue of the many varieties of food out there?

8. "Friendly People" begins with Mrs. Bryson telling Bill that all he did in his columns was make negative comments about the United States. He goes on to say there are a lot of things he likes about America. What are some of those things?

9. In "Rule Number 1: Follow All Rules,"what does Bryson use as an example of a rule that must be followed in America? How does he compare the devotion to order in the U.S. and Britain?

10. How does Bryson compare late television in the U.S. to late time television in Britain in his "Drug Culture"? What does he say about the American approach to over-the-counter medicine from watching commercials for these products?

(see the answer keys)

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