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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. From where does Didion receive a rejection letter in "On Being Unchosen by the College of One's Choice"?
(a) Berkeley.
(b) Stanford University.
(c) UCLA.
(d) Harvard.

3. In "Pretty Nancy," Didion describes Nancy has having a smile of someone who did what?
(a) Said something funny.
(b) Grew up in comfort.
(c) Grew up poor.
(d) Married a politician.

4. What does Skip tell Joan he is not to be mistaken for despite having a beard in "Fathers, Sons, Screaming Eagles"?
(a) Santa Claus.
(b) An old man.
(c) Unkempt.
(d) A hippie.

5. One meeting attendee in "Getting Serenity" says his idea is getting what?
(a) Sober.
(b) A job.
(c) Serenity.
(d) Married.

6. What is the first speaker at the meeting Didion covers in "Getting Serenity" addicted to?
(a) Heroin.
(b) Draw-poker.
(c) BlackJack.
(d) Vodka.

7. Where does Didion say she used to eavesdrop on people's conversations thinking "it was a good way to learn about life" (23) in "Getting Serenity"?
(a) The Greyhound.
(b) The Post Office.
(c) The Airport.
(d) Restaurants.

8. What does Nancy tell Joan she does not believe in being at the end of "Pretty Nancy"?
(a) A helicopter parent.
(b) A meek housewife.
(c) A busybody.
(d) An absentee mother.

9. According to Didion in "A Trip to Xanadu," in what year did San Simeon become a state monument?
(a) 1979.
(b) 1985.
(c) 1958.
(d) 2020.

10. Why is the first speaker in "Getting Serenity" unable to sleep when she returned home after 5 a.m.?
(a) It was too light out.
(b) She was replaying her game in her head.
(c) She had to go to work.
(d) Her kids needed breakfast.

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

12. 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 daughter.
(c) Her husband.
(d) Her mother.

13. In "Pretty Nancy," where does Joan say Nancy went to college?
(a) Smith.
(b) Wellesley.
(c) Yale.
(d) Stanford.

14. Who is Nancy's husband in "Pretty Nancy"?
(a) Frank Sinatra.
(b) Ronald Reagan.
(c) George Bush.
(d) Richard Nixon.

15. What type of meeting does Didion cover in "Getting Serenity"?
(a) AlAnon.
(b) Gambler's Anonymous.
(c) Alcoholic's Anonymous.
(d) Narcotic's Anonymous.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Skip tell Joan about his son in "Fathers, Sons, Screaming Eagles"?

2. Why does Didion say that underground newspapers are not truly underground in "Alicia and the Underground Press"?

3. Which of Joan's relatives does she show her college rejection letter to in "On Being Unchosen by the College of One's Choice"?

4. What is one of the newspapers that the author lists as one of the few that do not make her feel as though "the oxygen has been cut off from [her] brain tissue" (20)?

5. One of the meeting attendees, Frank L., has been going to meetings for six years and on the night Joan attended had not placed a bet in how long?

(see the answer keys)

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