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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who was White's favorite sibling?
(a) Marion.
(b) Clara.
(c) Lillian.
(d) Stanley.

2. Where do a majority of White's columns appear in the Seattle Times?
(a) The last page.
(b) The front page.
(c) The classified section.
(d) The leisure section.

3. What type of background did White's mother have?
(a) Irish.
(b) Italian.
(c) Scottish.
(d) English.

4. How does White describe Adolph Ochs, publisher of the New York Times?
(a) Interesting, but not interested.
(b) Both interested and interesting.
(c) Neither interesting nor interested.
(d) Interested, but not interesting.

5. How does the New York Herald Tribune refer to White in their response to his criticism?
(a) A committee of misinformation.
(b) A committee of one.
(c) A committee of few.
(d) A committee of ignorance.

6. With which faculty member(s) does White eventually write "The Elements of Style"?
(a) Martin Sampson.
(b) Bristow Adams and William Strunk.
(c) Bristow Adams and Martin Sampson.
(d) William Strunk.

7. Where is Katharine's father a successful businessman?
(a) Connecticut.
(b) New York.
(c) Boston.
(d) New England.

8. When does White write to Katharine about his separation from the New Yorker?
(a) May, 1938.
(b) July, 1937.
(c) July, 1938.
(d) May, 1937.

9. How does White describe himself as a child?
(a) Neither nervous nor fretful.
(b) Nervous and fretful.
(c) Fretful, but not nervous.
(d) Nervous, but not fretful.

10. Which one of White's books is co-authored by Katharine?
(a) "A Subtreasury of American Humor".
(b) "The Trumpet of the Swan".
(c) "Charlotte's Web".
(d) "The Elements of Style".

11. What case does White reference in a letter to the New York Herald Tribune?
(a) The situation of Hollywood screen writers.
(b) The situation of film critics.
(c) The situation of Hollywood actors.
(d) The situation of modern poets.

12. How many musical instruments did White learn to play?
(a) One.
(b) Three.
(c) None.
(d) Two.

13. How does White describe publicity to Alice while working at the American Legion News Service?
(a) Old and underpaid.
(b) New and overpaid.
(c) New and underpaid.
(d) Old and overpaid.

14. Which of the following is not included in the list of purchases White reports to his parents in a letter?
(a) Boots for five dollars and fifty cents.
(b) A shirt for ninety cents.
(c) Milk for twenty cents.
(d) Bread for ten cents.

15. When does White submit the manuscript for Stuart Little to his agent?
(a) June, 1939.
(b) March, 1939.
(c) July, 1940.
(d) April, 1940.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does White first submit to the New Yorker?

2. Which movie character does White write to his brother, Stanley, about in 1937?

3. What activities is White's son enjoying at Cornell?

4. Where does White travel to after leaving Seattle in 1923?

5. What year(s) does White write letters about Katharine's miscarriage and his mother's passing?

(see the answer keys)

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