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

2. According to Bryson, why are national parks and wilderness areas in the United States overcrowded?
(a) Because they are inexpensive to visit.
(b) Because everyone brings their cars.
(c) Because people are tired of the cities.
(d) Because too many people take their children.

3. What New Hampshire town did the Bryson family settle in during 1995?
(a) Hanover.
(b) Concord.
(c) Manchester.
(d) Colebrook.

4. Where do Bill and his wife go to celebrate their anniversary?
(a) To an expensive inn in Massachusetts.
(b) To a spa in Connecticut.
(c) To a fancy restaurant in Vermont.
(d) To a ski resort in Quebec.

5. In "Dying Accents," what is the name of the man who does carpentry around the Bryson house?
(a) Walt.
(b) Darryl.
(c) Darby.
(d) Bob.

Short Answer Questions

1. Bryson says that 94% of Americans' trips from home involve the use of something in particular. What is that item?

2. In "Lost at the Movies," which Jurassic Park movie did Bryson take his children to see?

3. What does Bill say about American sports teams that would never happen in Britain?

4. What does Bryson think is sad about how things are changing in modern Vermont?

5. According to Bill, what is the outstanding quality of Americans?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. In "Mail Call," what points does Bryson bring up to compare American post offices and British post offices? Why does he prefer American post offices?

3. 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?

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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