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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. In what year did the government begin formulating agricultural policy?

2. In what state did O'Rourke live?

3. What year is the District of Columbia Housing Act from?

4. The annual spending per student in O'Rourke's town is over how much?

5. What drug does O'Rourke say made kids psychotic?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does O'Rourke feel that the best policy for dealing with Afghani Pathan tribesman is to just stay away from them?

2. How does O'Rourke describe Blatherboro?

3. How does O'Rourke feel about Panama when he goes there in the wake of Operation Just Cause?

4. How does O'Rourke describe the USS Mobile Bay?

5. How does O'Rourke feel about Social Security after visiting the AARP?

6. How does O'Rourke see a connection between the fear of crack cocaine in America and racism?

7. Describe O'Rourke's experience when he joined the Guardian Angels on a drug den raid.

8. How does O'Rourke feel about the Guardian Angels after his experience with them?

9. Why does O'Rourke fault environmentalists for making "big business" out to be the enemy?

10. Why does O'Rourke feels that Blatherboro is out of its depth when it comes to city planning?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explore O'Rourke's hypothetical U.S. budget. What does he feel about taxes? What does he cut from the budget? What seems to be the main goal of his budget? Do you think his proposed budget is plausible? Why or why not? Use examples from the text to support your ideas.

Essay Topic 2

Explore the perspective used in this nonfiction work. How would O'Rourke's lessons about the government be different if they were written from a third-person perspective, like they would be in a text book? What could the reader gain from a less personal perspective? What is gained from the first-person perspective and the first-hand examples that he uses instead?

Essay Topic 3

Explore O'Rourke's story concerning runaway car syndrome and the hype around it. What does runaway car syndrome have to do with bureaucracy? How do instances like runaway car syndrome seem to fuel increased bureaucracy? How does O'Rourke seem to feel about increased bureaucracy in the U.S. government? What techniques does the author use to convey these feelings?

(see the answer keys)

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