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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How many proposals does White have to make a movie of "Charlotte's Web"?
(a) Hundreds.
(b) Several.
(c) A few.
(d) None.

2. What is the main reason why White is still at the New Yorker in 1956?
(a) Because he enjoys the work.
(b) Because of the income he is generating.
(c) Because of the death of Gus Lobrano.
(d) Because Katharine is there.

3. When does White write to his agent about his reservations of a Czech producer's plans for a movie about "Charlotte's Web"?
(a) 1974.
(b) 1972.
(c) 1973.
(d) 1971.

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

5. Where does White first publish his remembrance of Strunk?
(a) The New Yorker.
(b) The New York Herald Times.
(c) Harper's magazine.
(d) The New York Post.

6. What is the subject of Sam Beaver's poem included in the children's concert of "The Trumpet of the Swan"?
(a) The zoo.
(b) Swans.
(c) The lake.
(d) Trumpets.

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

8. When does White respond to a letter by Cathy Durham?
(a) February, 1962.
(b) September, 1962.
(c) July, 1961.
(d) March, 1961.

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

10. What reason does White give his agent for putting the book, Charlotte's Web, aside for a while?
(a) To allow it to breathe.
(b) To allow it to seem familiar.
(c) To allow it to ripen.
(d) To allow it to seem new.

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

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

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

14. In a May, 1952 letter, how does White describe the goose on the cover of "Charlotte's Web"?
(a) Suspiciously serpentine.
(b) Uncharacteristically bird-like.
(c) Suspiciously sad.
(d) Uncharacteristically excited.

15. According to his letter, what stays in White's pond for several days?
(a) A squirrel.
(b) A frog.
(c) A swan.
(d) A muskrat.

Short Answer Questions

1. What book does White negotiate the movie rights for between 1966 and 1970?

2. Which Maine Senator does White write to in opposition of the Dirksen amendment?

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

4. What type of people did Ross hire when starting the New Yorker, according to White?

5. How long were Katharine and E.B. White married?

(see the answer keys)

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