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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. What trait does Bill admit that he has in regards to simple everyday activities?
(a) He never forgets anything.
(b) He is perfect at everything he does.
(c) He is clumsy.
(d) He is absentminded.

2. In the twenty years since Bryson left the United States, by how much have car numbers, roads, and mileage increased?
(a) By two times.
(b) By 100%.
(c) By 10%.
(d) By half.

3. What does Bill hate about flying now that he is back in the U.S.?
(a) The snacks are terrible.
(b) Having to show photo identification at the airport.
(c) The price of tickets.
(d) No meals are served.

4. In "The War on Drugs," what is wrong, according to Bryson, about the penalties for drug possession?
(a) He thinks the penalties for drug possession are too harsh.
(b) He thinks the laws favor the rich.
(c) He thinks the penalties should be harsher.
(d) He thinks the laws favor the poor.

5. What does Bill say is ridiculous about a VCR?
(a) It costs so much.
(b) It has no remote.
(c) It is being replaced by a DVD player.
(d) It can record twelve months in advance.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. According to Bill, what product do Americans regard much differently than the British?

3. In "Consuming Pleasures," what does Bill say about shopping in America?

4. How do 40,000 Americans die a year, according to Bryson?

5. What does Bill say about the barber in his new hometown?

Short Essay Questions

1. "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?

2. 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?

3. In "The Numbers Game," Bryson expresses his amazement at the large numbers that are quoted by American government agencies. What does he say about the use of such large numbers?

4. Bryson finds the lack of privacy in America to be a problem. List three examples of this problem that he cites in "Snoopers at Work."

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

6. 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.

7. In "The Risk Factor," how does Bryson explain that the average American is twice as likely to die accidentally as the average Briton?

8. Bryson relates how his attitude to the informality and familiarity in American life seemed an irritant when he returned to the United States. For Essay 19, "Number Please," relate some of the ways he has encountered this informality in America.

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

10. 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.

(see the answer keys)

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