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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through 10-14.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In "Recollections of Notable Cops," why does Mencken find the idea of a police academy remarkable?
(a) Mencken regards policemen as corrupt, vicious brutes.
(b) Mencken states that police academies are contrary to the ideals of democracy.
(c) Cops in Mencken's younger days were not educated.
(d) Academies usually teach useless skills; police academies teach useful skills.

2. According to "The Skeptic," what do women always bear?
(a) The burden of caring for families.
(b) A healthy mistrust of their husbands.
(c) A strong sense of household finances.
(d) The strength of their religious convictions.

3. Why was Theodore Dreiser compared to Franz Schubert by Mencken?
(a) Dreiser and Schubert exhibited an uncommon and sometimes perverse imagination.
(b) Dreiser and Schubert didn't know the theory of their arts, but nonetheless they produce valuable work.
(c) Dreiser and Schubert both created work that is "lighter than air."
(d) Dreiser and Schubert used whimsy, irony, and a sense of silliness.

4. What was Alistair Cooke's relationship to H. L. Mencken?
(a) A journalist and friend.
(b) A childhood acquaintance.
(c) A political enemy.
(d) A poet whom Mencken greatly admires.

5. Which was NOT a source of terrible smell in the Baltimore of the 1880s, according to Mencken?
(a) The glue factory.
(b) Wilkins Hair Factory.
(c) The St. Helen's insane asylum.
(d) The Back Basin.

Short Answer Questions

1. What moral choice faced Mencken and a cop on New Year's Day, in "Recollections of Notable Cops"?

2. Which boat captain helped Mencken while in Cuba?

3. What one thing did Mencken feel was useful from the contributions of Sigmund Freud?

4. What, according to Mencken, is "The Incomparable Buzz-Saw"?

5. What was the nature of the Prince of Wales story Mencken tells in "The Art Eternal"?

(see the answer key)

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