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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In "A Better Place," what is Sedaris's response to the idea that his father will always be with him?
(a) His father was never with him in life.
(b) He will make an effort to swear less, in that case.
(c) He does not want his father to be with him.
(d) His father is not some kind of eternal stalker.

2. In "Lady Marmalade," what does Sedaris say about Lou's physical aggression towards him and his siblings?
(a) Sedaris would want to be allowed to act the same way toward his own children.
(b) Physical abuse is wrong, regardless of the context.
(c) It scarred each of the siblings in different ways.
(d) Lou's aggression was mostly verbal and very seldom physical.

3. In "Fresh-Caught Haddock," what does Bermey say caused him to lose sympathy for the Black Lives Matter movement?
(a) The rebranding of two popular syrups.
(b) The looting and vandalism.
(c) The renaming of a Raleigh neighborhood.
(d) The removal of Confederate monuments.

4. In "Pussytoes," where is Sedaris when he gets the news about his father's death?
(a) In his and Hugh's home in New York.
(b) In a restaurant in Atlantic Beach.
(c) In the courtyard at Springmoor.
(d) In a hotel room in Reno, Nevada.

5. On page 228 of "Pussytoes," what does Gretchen complain she is not allowed to say at work anymore?
(a) "Workmen."
(b) "Alien species."
(c) "Manpower."
(d) "Native plants."

6. In "Pearls," how does Sedaris characterize the marital problems people faced in the 1970's and 1980's?
(a) Basic.
(b) Overblown.
(c) Inevitable.
(d) Serious.

7. In "The Vacuum," what does Sedaris say he has learned through experience never to do on the streets of New York?
(a) Back down from an argument.
(b) Get distracted by his phone.
(c) Flash money or jewelry.
(d) Stop and engage with people.

8. In the anecdote Sedaris tells about the woman with the facial injury in "Smile, Beautiful," what was the women bitten by?
(a) A mountain lion.
(b) A dog.
(c) A giraffe.
(d) A seal.

9. In "Happy-Go-Lucky," what role does Sedaris say Hugh ends up playing when they visit Springmoor?
(a) Secretary.
(b) Mediator.
(c) Servant.
(d) Nurse.

10. In "A Better Place," what does Sedaris suggest would be true about Lou, if there were, in fact, an afterlife?
(a) Lou would still be making fun of him.
(b) Lou would be trying to boss God around.
(c) Lou would finally learn to play the guitar.
(d) Lou would be in hell.

11. In "Fresh-Caught Haddock," what does the young woman in Union Square try to give Sedaris?
(a) A bandana.
(b) A bottle of water.
(c) Spray paint.
(d) A protest sign.

12. In "Lucky-Go-Happy," why does Sedaris spend months thinking about a show he did in Vancouver?
(a) It is the last show before the pandemic temporarily halts his touring.
(b) The box office attendant is very rude to Sedaris.
(c) A celebrity that Sedaris has seen on television attends this performance.
(d) A man carrying a gun is stopped at the theater door.

13. In "Happy-Go-Lucky," how does Sedaris characterize continuing media coverage of the Covid pandemic?
(a) It fails to deliver important information.
(b) It is needlessly alarmist.
(c) It is unrealistically optimistic.
(d) It causes divisions among Americans.

14. In "Pussytoes," where do the siblings stay together on the night before Lou's funeral?
(a) Lou's old house.
(b) A hotel.
(c) Paul's house in Raleigh.
(d) Sea Section.

15. In "Smile, Beautiful," what does a woman at a book signing tell Sedaris that brings him close to tears?
(a) His book changed her life.
(b) He reminds her that looks do not matter.
(c) He has a beautiful smile.
(d) He has inspired her to get her teeth fixed.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Lucky-Go-Happy," what nickname does Sedaris say he has given Hugh?

2. In the beginning of "Fresh-Caught Haddock," where are Sedaris, Amy, and Hugh as they listen to the sounds of the protest?

3. Where does the title "Pussytoes" come from?

4. In "Fresh-Caught Haddock," what does Sedaris metaphorically compare the BLM protests to?

5. In "Lucky-Go-Happy," what does Sedaris assume is true about the "slightly disheveled" front desk clerk (251)?

(see the answer keys)

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