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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What image of “bored children” at home does Smith use in “The American Exception”?
(a) Staring zombie like at a screen.
(b) Climbing the walls.
(c) Twiddling their thumbs.
(d) Crying from boredom.

2. Though the “bubble” of privilege can be penetrated, what bubble does Smith say cannot be penetrated?
(a) Self-hate.
(b) Inadequate education.
(c) Isolation.
(d) Suffering.

3. What purported purpose of art does Smith say is usually overstated in her essay “Something to Do”?
(a) Its aesthetic value.
(b) Its political efficacy.
(c) Its fundraising abilities.
(d) Offer financial security to the artist.

4. The moment Smith realized that she had misunderstood the conversation between the women in the Subway shop was the moment Smith says she became aware of her what?
(a) Nosiness.
(b) Isolation.
(c) Privilege.
(d) Hearing problems.

5. What is the topic of conversation Smith overhears between two woman at a Subway shop in “Suffering Like Mel Gibson”?
(a) The economy.
(b) Technology and children.
(c) Higher Education.
(d) Feminism.

6. In “Something to Do,” Smith says that without love life can seem what?
(a) Comical.
(b) Tragic.
(c) Empty and endless.
(d) Dark and depressing.

7. At the start of “Suffering Like Mel Gibson,” which type of person does Smith say dreamed of an “isolation within isolation” (29) at the start of the pandemic?
(a) Dating couples.
(b) Grandparents.
(c) Roommates.
(d) Married couples with children.

8. Which writer does Smith quote in her essay “Something to Do”?
(a) Ottessa Moshfegh.
(b) Ottessa Moshe.
(c) Lottie Moshfegh.
(d) Odessa Mosher.

9. What example does Smith use in “Peonies” as a time when submitting might be better than resisting?
(a) Peer pressure.
(b) Torture.
(c) When your alarm clock goes off.
(d) Disease.

10. What does Smith say we were in a “long, involved cultural conversation” about prior to the pandemic?
(a) Universal Healthcare.
(b) Free public universities.
(c) Privilege.
(d) Gender inequality.

11. After the pandemic, Smith says we must modify our new knowledge of privilege to involve what new category?
(a) Suffering.
(b) Excessive screen time.
(c) Isolation.
(d) Vaccination.

12. What is the setting at the start of “Peonies”?
(a) The Manhattan Garden.
(b) The Brooklyn Gardens.
(c) Jefferson Market Garden.
(d) The New York Botanical Gardens.

13. What is one of the social issues Smith said that pandemic forced many to have to face in her essay “Something to Do”?
(a) Bad marriages.
(b) Lack of sick leave.
(c) Unloving parents.
(d) Low minimum wage.

14. Who were the few people, according to Smith, who did not have to “seek out something to do” during the pandemic?
(a) Gamers.
(b) Writers.
(c) Painters.
(d) Essential workers.

15. What does Smith say is the truest, most obvious reason why people write or make art?
(a) Because it is something to do.
(b) Because they cannot get a real job.
(c) Because they cannot live without creating art.
(d) Because they have no other skills.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which type of person does Smith say was overjoyed with the new free time at the start of the pandemic?

2. Smith thinks that one reason Americans cannot fathom plagues is because they do not discriminate based on what?

3. In suffering like Mel Gibson, Smith says that prior to the pandemic people were learning about the link between privilege and what?

4. What is the term Smith says reflects her resistance to the nature of her gender?

5. Who did people “thank God for” (16) after the pandemic when, Smith says, they were not seen as worthy of a $15/ hour minimum wage prior to the pandemic?

(see the answer keys)

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