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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Section 5: "Happy-Go Lucky" through "Lady Marmalade".

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In "Lady Marmalade," what did Lou suggest Sedaris's childhood stomach pains were caused by?
(a) A desire to get out of school.
(b) A desire for attention.
(c) Their mother's cooking.
(d) Hemorrhoids.

2. In "Happy-Go-Lucky," what is Sedaris stunned to hear Lou admit to being wrong about?
(a) Hoarding.
(b) Writing.
(c) Painting.
(d) Trump.

3. In "Highfalutin," what does Sedaris ultimately decide his idea of perfect happiness is?
(a) Shopping and laughing with his sister Amy.
(b) Taking a long bath at a great hotel before giving a reading.
(c) Sitting on the deck of Sea Section with Hugh, watching the ocean.
(d) Eating ice cream while watching a documentary about Jim Jones.

4. In "Hurricane Season," what does Sedaris recall Hugh yelling at Lisa for one Christmas in Sussex?
(a) She set a drink down without a coaster.
(b) She wore a coat to the dinner table.
(c) She drank gin straight from the bottle.
(d) She wiped her hands on her jeans instead of on a towel.

5. In "A Speech to the Graduates," what is Sedaris's purpose in mentioning the speaker at his own graduation?
(a) He intends to charm his audience with his humility.
(b) He is introducing a theme he will expand on in his own remarks.
(c) He hopes to impress his audience with his own experiences.
(d) He means to contrast his own speech with that speaker's remarks.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Themes and Variations," what two topics does Sedaris note seem to overlap in many jokes?

2. In "Themes and Variations," what is Sedaris's tone as he discusses the excuses men give when they arrive in the ER with objects lodged in their rectums?

3. In "Highfalutin," whose poor behavior with service staff does Sedaris say inspired him to be extra warm and friendly?

4. Where is Sedaris in the opening of the essay "Unbuttoned"?

5. In "A Better Place," what is Sedaris implying when he comments about the long lives of Dick Cheney, Henry Kissinger, and Rupert Murdoch?

(see the answer key)

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