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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 does Bill say is a big improvement in America concerning business phone numbers?
(a) Business calls cannot be made into people's homes.
(b) They are preprogrammed on everyone's phone.
(c) The 1-800 numbers are easy to remember.
(d) They are only four-digits.

2. What event in America is starting up as Bill begins writing his columns for his British audience?
(a) The Summer Olympics.
(b) The Stanley Cup Play-Offs.
(c) A Presidential Election Campaign.
(d) The World Series.

3. What does Bill tell the reader about crime in New Hampshire?
(a) Petty crime is a problem in the rural areas.
(b) There were only four murders in the last reporting year.
(c) Serious crime is on the increase.
(d) There is no death penalty.

4. According to Bryson, what is lacking in his New Hampshire town?
(a) Crime.
(b) Intelligent people.
(c) Pollution.
(d) Good entertainment.

5. What American kitchen convenience does Bill think is just wonderful?
(a) The blender.
(b) The garbage disposal.
(c) The microwave.
(d) The dishwasher.

Short Answer Questions

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

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

3. According to Bryson, why are national parks and wilderness areas in the United States overcrowded?

4. What does Bill miss about television in Britain?

5. What does Bill find strange about some U.S. commercials?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How does Bryson feel about gardening? What are his feelings concerning gardening with his mate in "Gardening With My Wife"?

3. What comparison does Bryson make between American baseball and English cricket in "Take Me Out to the Ballpark"?

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. 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 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?

8. In "Design Flaws" Bryson compares running shoes and his computer keyboard. What does he say about each one?

9. 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?

10. In "On the Hotline," how does dental floss become the topic of this essay? What is the outcome of Bryson's reading the fine print on his floss packaging?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,366 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample