View a FREE sample

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 built over buried treasure.
(c) Being used in a lot of movies.
(d) Being the first to use the word "motel."

2. In "Why Everyone is Worried," which federal agency is not doing a very good job, according to Bryson?
(a) Administration on Aging.
(b) The FBI.
(c) Homeland Security.
(d) The CIA.

3. How does Bryson begin "Tales of the North Woods?"
(a) He talks about shoveling snow.
(b) He talks about the town that disappeared, and no one has found it.
(c) He talks about using a snowmobile.
(d) He talks about a college student who left a party and died in the woods.

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

5. Although the GDP is seen as a positive in economic terms, how does Bill say it can be negative?
(a) It does not help the poor.
(b) It is just too confusing.
(c) Production can cause pollution.
(d) Some of it has to go to other countries.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Bill hate about flying now that he is back in the U.S.?

2. Where do Bill and his wife go to celebrate their anniversary?

3. According to Bryson, what is lacking in his New Hampshire town?

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

5. In "Wide-Open Spaces," according to Bryson, who was an idiot?

Short Essay Questions

1. Bryson has a nostalgic look at motels in "Room Service." How does he compare and contrast older motels with those of the mid 1990's?

2. What information about household accidents in America does Bryson give the reader in "Well, Doctor. I was Just Trying to Lie Down..."? Where did he find his information?

3. 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?

4. In "The War on Drugs," what examples does Bryson give to prove his belief about American drug laws being unfair?

5. 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?

6. Summarize Bryson's trip to the supermarket in "Junk-Food Heaven." Include why he went shopping in the first place, what he saw at the store, and what was the ultimate outcome of that trip.

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

8. In "How to Have Fun at Home,"which household conveniences are high on Bill's approval list? Why?

9. Why does Bryson hate calling the computer helpline, as he outlines in "Help!"? How does he react to hotlines in general?

10. "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?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,441 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample