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. What does Bryson like to do when he picks up his mail on winter mornings?
(a) Take a thermos of hot tea with him.
(b) Give his snowblower a work out.
(c) Test his tolerance for the cold.
(d) Walk his dog.

2. In "A Slight Inconvenience," what does Bryson say about drive-through windows in restaurants?
(a) They are inefficient.
(b) They save people a lot of time.
(c) They are unsanitary.
(d) That people will spend more time in line than if they went in.

3. What does Bryson comment on as being a strange development in the world of exercise?
(a) Driving one's car to the gym
(b) That it is a multi-million dollar industry.
(c) Actually paying large amounts to join a gym.
(d) Retired people meeting at malls to have their daily walk.

4. What does Mrs. Bryson tell her husband about Maggie that cheers him up?
(a) Maggie had moved to Boston.
(b) Maggie had to have her jaw wired shut for dental work.
(c) Maggie had made herself sick on vegetarian stew.
(d) Maggie dyed her hair, and it turned green.

5. In "The Great Indoors," what does Bryson say people in America have developed a dislike of?
(a) Multi-grain bread.
(b) Coffee.
(c) Fresh air.
(d) Law and order.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Bryson mean by the "wasteland"?

2. According to Bryson, what did people in the past do when they flew?

3. According to Bryson, what does the Travel Industry Association of America say about shopping?

4. How was the first "drive-in" movie shown in New Jersey in the 1930's?

5. According to Bryson, what problem does he have with relating to New Englanders?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

2. In "The Flying Nightmare," Bryson compares modern air travel with air travel from his youth in the 1960s and 70s. List three points he makes.

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

4. 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?

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

6. Bryson looks at obesity in "The Fat of the Land." Name three statistics he mentions in relation to obesity.

7. Bryson relates his sad tale of trying to rent a car when he went to the Boston airport in "How to Rent a Car." What are some of the problems he encountered?

8. "The Best American Holiday," Bryson explains why he loves Thanksgiving so much. List three things that he enthuses about the holiday.

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

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

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,514 words (approx. 6 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample