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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In White's opinion, how different is the New Yorker in the 1950s?
(a) Completely different than it was in the 1920s.
(b) No different than it was in the 1920s.
(c) Moderately different than it was in the 1920s.
(d) Slightly different than it was in the 1920s.

2. Which Maine Senator does White write to in opposition of the Dirksen amendment?
(a) Frederick G. Payne.
(b) Margaret Chase Smith.
(c) Edmund S. Muskie.
(d) William D. Hathaway.

3. What is the subject of the article that White's granddaughter, Martha, writes?
(a) Writing.
(b) Exercising.
(c) Jogging.
(d) Fishing.

4. When does a new printing for "Charlotte's Web" begin?
(a) After 100,000 copies are sold.
(b) After 75,000 copies are sold.
(c) After 25,000 copies are sold.
(d) After 50,000 copies are sold.

5. What does the Dirksen amendment involve?
(a) A longer school day for students.
(b) A shortened school day for students.
(c) Voluntary prayer in school.
(d) A new grading system for schools.

6. How many minor surgeries does Katharine undergo between 1966 and 1970?
(a) Four.
(b) Twelve.
(c) Ten.
(d) Eight.

7. Who is Ursula Nordstrom?
(a) A former Harper's coworker of White.
(b) A former New Yorker coworker of White.
(c) The owner of Harper & Brothers.
(d) The editor at Harper & Brothers.

8. In a letter to his brother, Stanley, what does White fear the surgeons will find in his abdomen during an operation?
(a) Fiddlehead ferns.
(b) Shrimp newburg.
(c) Ahi Carpaccio.
(d) Shad roe.

9. In a letter to James Thurber, what injury does White sustain while falling onto an awning?
(a) A large skull gash.
(b) A broken leg.
(c) A broken arm.
(d) A sprained ankle.

10. How many copies of "The Elements of Style" have been sold?
(a) Ten million copies.
(b) More than ten million copies.
(c) Four million copies.
(d) Eight million copies.

11. In a letter to Howard Cushman, what request does White have about trumpeter swans?
(a) Only photos.
(b) Neither photos nor information.
(c) Only information.
(d) Photos and information.

12. How many letters of condolence does White receive after Katharine's passing?
(a) Over five hundred.
(b) Four hundred.
(c) Two hundred.
(d) Three hundred.

13. In another office memo, for which James Thurber story does White offer his comments?
(a) The Sixteen Doors.
(b) The Thirteen Doors.
(c) The Sixteen Clocks.
(d) The Thirteen Clocks.

14. Which John Steinbeck book was the result of an assignment for Holiday magazine that White could not complete?
(a) "East of Eden".
(b) "Of Mice and Men".
(c) "The Grapes of Wrath".
(d) "Travels with Charley".

15. Who writes the score for the children's concert of "The Trumpet of the Swan".
(a) Lindley Evans.
(b) Benjamin Lee.
(c) John Antill.
(d) Anne Boyd.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Cathy Durham's librarian respond to White's letter to Cathy?

2. Which piece of Charlotte's advice does White give to his publisher regarding the revisions on the illustrations for the book?

3. In a letter to Stanley, how often does White say he puts his head in traction?

4. Why does White initially think his biography should be shorter?

5. What trouble does White mention he has when writing, due to his impaired vision?

(see the answer keys)

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