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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What year was Walter Davis from "Fathers, Sons, Screaming Eagles" stationed in Holland?
(a) 1963.
(b) 1952.
(c) 1921.
(d) 1944.

2. What does Skip keep in his pocket in "Fathers, Sons, Screaming Eagles"?
(a) A newsclipping about his son.
(b) A medal from when he was in the war.
(c) A photo of his father from when he fought in World War I.
(d) A picture of himself during the war.

3. What does the newsman want Nancy to do as she answers the first question he asks her in "Pretty Nancy"?
(a) Pour some lemonade.
(b) Giggle and look away.
(c) Smile and nod.
(d) Nip a bud.

4. Where did the second speaker in "Getting Serenity" first start gambling?
(a) Vietnam.
(b) Atlanta.
(c) L.A.
(d) Nevada.

5. What is one of the words Didion uses to describe the way the Hearsts spend their money in "A Trip to Xanadu"?
(a) Responsibility.
(b) Flamboyance.
(c) Conservatively.
(d) Frivolously.

6. In what grade does Joan's friend get on the essay she wrote for him in "On Being Unchosen by the College of One's Choice," how many applications does Joan say the private kindergarten her friend was trying to get her child into received?
(a) 90.
(b) 15.
(c) 5.
(d) 1000.

7. In "A Trip to Xanadu," who does Didion say she took to tour San Simeon after it became a state monument?
(a) Her niece.
(b) Her husband.
(c) Her mother.
(d) Her daughter.

8. How many nights does one of the speakers say he has been free from his addiction in "Getting Serenity"?
(a) 13.
(b) 1,223.
(c) 365.
(d) 87.

9. Who do the San Simeon tour guides in "A Trip to Xanadu" tell the group still stays in the 21 room guest house?
(a) Hearst.
(b) The servants.
(c) Hearst's daughters.
(d) Hearst's sons.

10. What does Didion say she has never read in an underground paper in "Alicia and the Underground Press"?
(a) She says she has never read anything well written.
(b) She says she has never read anything useless.
(c) She says she has never read anything political.
(d) She says she has never read anything she needs to know.

11. Rather than being adversaries, Didion says that writers for mainstream newspapers are now what?
(a) Blacklisted.
(b) Bribed.
(c) Confidants.
(d) Ignored.

12. Where does Joan begin taking classes after she was rejected from the college of her choice in "On Being Unchosen by the College of One's Choice"?
(a) UCLA.
(b) Cal-Tech.
(c) UC Berkeley.
(d) Stanford.

13. Who does Didion say mainstream writers dine with at the end of "Alicia and the Underground Press"?
(a) Harrison Ford.
(b) Henry Ford.
(c) Howard Hughes.
(d) President Kennedy.

14. What is Nancy's son's nickname in "Pretty Nancy"?
(a) The Skipper.
(b) Gilligan.
(c) Captain.
(d) First Mate.

15. In what city in California does the meeting in "Getting Serenity" take place?
(a) Sacramento.
(b) Gardena.
(c) Hollywood.
(d) San Diego.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Nancy tell Joan is important to a man at the end of "Pretty Nancy"?

2. How many people are at the meeting Joan attends in "Getting Serenity?

3. What is the first speaker at the meeting Didion covers in "Getting Serenity" addicted to?

4. In what year was Skip active in the 101st Airborne in "Fathers, Sons, Screaming Eagles"?

5. What type of meeting does Didion cover in "Getting Serenity"?

(see the answer keys)

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