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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. Kay is told it will take her __________ years to win the people's hearts from the Vietcong.

2. After a year of widowhood, Kay's _______ grows more bearable to her, but the paper is still difficult.

3. Through the 1970s, Kay feels that her ____________ exceeded her accomplishments.

4. Who is the star reporter that Bradlee hires from the New York Times, helping to rejuvenate the Post?

5. Beebe dies of ______ the day after listening to Nixon's speech and giving a last hurrah from his hospital bed.

Short Essay Questions

1. What has Beebe been doing during the years of Phil's decline at the Post?

2. What happens when there are union negotiations taking place at the Post?

3. What does the Nixon spokesman first say of the Democratic National Committee Headquarters break-in?

4. What happens during the pressmens' Pearl Harbor as Kay finds out early in the morning on October 1, 1975?

5. What happens as the result of Kay being conditioned to deal only with important people?

6. Why do the Grahams fly to Los Angeles in early 1962 at the start of this chapter?

7. What does Bradlee do in order to help improve the Post staff in his new position?

8. What are some of the policies that Kay implements in order to take on the idea of sexism in society?

9. What does Roger Parkinson suggest when the pressmen strike and attack?

10. What happens during Nixon's Saturday Night Massacre after his tapes are subpoenaed?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

During the pressman's strike, Kay is challenged to make decisions that are not only true to the Post, but also fair for the workers.

Part 1: Do you think Kay made the right decisions during the pressman's strike? Why or why not?

Part 2: Had Kay simply given in to the demands of the pressmen, what might have happened?

Part 3: One of the workers committed suicide as a result of the strike. Does Kay have any fault in this horrible consequence?

Essay Topic 2

The theme of sexism runs rampant in this book, with even Kay's father telling her that no man should be working for his wife when Kay's husband is given the position at the Post as opposed to her.

Part 1: Why do you think Kay's father thought that Phil was up to the task for the job?

Part 2: Do you think Kay would have made a better editor than Phil did? Why or why not?

Part 3: Why do you think that men though women were less able to handle the stresses of the newspaper world?

Essay Topic 3

What's interesting about Eugene is that he too starts off the Post without having much training in the business world, though he is able to turn what he does know into a promising publication.

Part 1: Why do you think Eugene ended up being successful in his work with the newspaper?

Part 2: Do you think you could simply start up a newspaper without having any training or business experience? Why or why not?

Part 3: What are the advantages to starting a business that you know nothing of?

(see the answer keys)

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