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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In "Highfalutin," what feature that he and Amy share embarrasses Sedaris at lunch?
(a) Dental problems.
(b) Thinning hair.
(c) Poor posture.
(d) Sagging skin.

2. In "A Speech to the Graduates," what is Sedaris's purpose in mentioning Gretchen's program of study and Amy's work at Second City?
(a) They demonstrate that gifted artists generally succeed quickly.
(b) They are a warning about the instability of non-traditional career choices.
(c) They illustrate his point that the post-college years can be the best years of a person's life.
(d) They are examples of artistic career choices that contrast with safer career choices.

3. In "A Speech to the Graduates," what does Sedaris say might prevent today's young people from enjoying a period of independence and exploration?
(a) The job market.
(b) Health care costs.
(c) The housing crisis.
(d) Student debt.

4. In "A Speech to the Graduates," what is the purpose of the charity that Sedaris mentions working with?
(a) Advocating for voting rights.
(b) Providing eye care to developing countries.
(c) Soliciting bone marrow donors.
(d) Protecting endangered species.

5. What do Harrison and Austen prefer to spend their time doing?
(a) Watching cartoons on television.
(b) Scrolling through social media.
(c) Watching TikTok and YouTube videos.
(d) Playing Nintendo Switch games.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Father Time," what does Sedaris say was the hardest part of Lou's hospitalization for the siblings?

2. In "Highfalutin," where have Sedaris and Hugh moved just before the lunch with Amy takes place?

3. In "Unbuttoned," what item of Sedaris's does he find in his father's room at Springmoor?

4. In "A Speech to the Graduates," what item does Sedaris tells students to not bother buying unless they can afford one of two specific brands?

5. In "Unbuttoned," which of Sedaris's siblings says that Lou is their best friend?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "Active Shooter," how does Lisa explain to the instructor and to Sedaris her desire to take a gun-safety course?

2. In "Active Shooter," how is Lisa's concern about what she saw at Starbucks used as the basis for a joke later in the essay?

3. In "Father Time," what does Sedaris tell Harrison and Austen about whom they should try to be more like, and why?

4. In "Father Time," how does Sedaris contrast his attentiveness to his father with that of his siblings?

5. In "Highfalutin," how does Sedaris say his adult experience in front of cameras reflects his role in the childhood game he played with Amy?

6. In "A Speech to the Graduates," what does Sedaris say frustrates him about talking to parents whose children want to be writers?

7. In "Hurricane Season," what type of art does Hugh hang in the rental house, and how does Sedaris characterize a recent tenant's reaction to this art?

8. In "Highfalutin," how does Sedaris describe Amy's writing and acting?

9. In "A Speech to the Graduates," what anecdote does Sedaris tell about the woman at the book-signing event, and what is this anecdote's rhetorical function?

10. In "To Serbia with Love," how does Sedaris describe the flea markets that he and Patsy visit in Eastern Europe?

(see the answer keys)

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