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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 was Bryson disappointed about on his book tours?
(a) The waiting in stores for people to show up.
(b) Interviewers who knew nothing about his book.
(c) That he had to sign so many books.
(d) Hotel room service.

2. How did Bryson describe his first run on a snowmobile?
(a) As awesome.
(b) As a jolly good time.
(c) As a waking nightmare.
(d) As too slow for him.

3. What did Bryson's parents give him for Christmas when he was eight?
(a) A chemistry set.
(b) A doll.
(c) Skis.
(d) Skates.

4. Who does Bryson say designed the snowmobile?
(a) Satan.
(b) Joseph Armand Bombardier.
(c) Thomas Edison.
(d) His friend Danny Blanchflower.

5. In "The Waste Generation," what does Bryson think is getting worse in the United States, compared to his youth?
(a) Poverty.
(b) Global warming.
(c) Crime.
(d) Pollution.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Highway Diversions," how does Bryson like to pass the time when he is driving on the highway?

2. What does Bryson do in the section called "Life's Mysteries"?

3. In "Drowning in Red Tape," what is Bryson frustrated about acquiring for his wife?

4. How much energy does Bryson say the average American uses compared to the average European?

5. Why is Bryson not impressed with the spell checker on his computer?

Short Essay Questions

1. "Your Tax Form Explained", what does Bryson satirize? Give three examples of how he does this.

2. In "Enough Already," Bryson says there is just too much of everything in America (except time, money, good plumbers, and polite people). What examples does he give to back this up? Why does he think it is not a good thing?

3. Bryson titled "The Waste Generation". Give three examples of why he thinks the generation of Americans in the 1990s is a wasteful one.

4. In "Lost in Cyberland," what kind of adventures does Bryson have with technology in America?

5. In "Deck the Halls," Bryson tells his readers that he is not looking forward to Christmas decorating. Why is this?

6. In "Shopping Madness," Bryson says there is a discipline called "retail anthropology." What is it ? What are some of the things it studies?

7. In "On Losing a Son," what does Bryson say his main activities are as a father sending his son off to college?

8. In "So Sue Me," what does Bryson say about American lawyers?

9. "Highway Diversions" is Bryson's look at highway travel, which he says is very dull. How does he compare modern highway travel to the highway travel of his youth?

10. Bryson explains the joys of living in a snowy climate in "Fun in the Snow." How does he give the reader the impression that he is not a natural athlete?

(see the answer keys)

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