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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. About how many copies of The Great Gatsby sold in a year by around 1960?

2. What is one of Green's favorite drinks?

3. What was the name of Green's dog who he writes about in his review of sunsets?

4. When will Halley's Comet be five times closer to the Earth than it was in 1986?

5. Whose life and death coincided roughly with appearances of Halley's Comet?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Green think of Canada geese today?

2. What connection does the song "You'll Never Walk Alone" have to Green's favorite sports team in Part I?

3. What does Green say would have happened to him before about 1940 if he had gotten the same Staph infection he got some years ago?

4. What difficulties did Green struggle with as an adolescent?

5. What does Green think of the Hall of Presidents at Disney World?

6. What is one of the big mysteries around Halley's Comet, according to Green?

7. What particular aspect of human existence does Green associate sunsets with that he says is hard to admit and that scares him?

8. In the Introduction, what does Green say this book started life as?

9. What did F. Scott Fitzgerald think of the reviews of his book The Great Gatsby?

10. What misconceptions does Green say most people have about velociraptors?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Green himself describe this essay collection as a departure from - and, also, similar to - his earlier works of both fiction and non-fiction? Write an essay explaining your answers.

Essay Topic 2

What has writing, and the ability to eventually write for a larger and receptive audience, meant to Green over the course of his career? Write an essay explaining your answers.

Essay Topic 3

How does Green describe his affinity for and attraction to sports, and what topics does he explore the lens of sports and competitions throughout this collection? Write an essay explaining your answers.

(see the answer keys)

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