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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Bryson find amazing about the geography of the United States?
(a) That the United States has no Arctic region.
(b) That there is very little variety.
(c) That so much of the country is empty of people.
(d) That it is smaller than Canada.

2. According to Bryson, why are national parks and wilderness areas in the United States overcrowded?
(a) Because everyone brings their cars.
(b) Because people are tired of the cities.
(c) Because they are inexpensive to visit.
(d) Because too many people take their children.

3. What disappeared in the north woods of New Hampshire in 1996 and was never found?
(a) A van full of illegal aliens.
(b) A Lear jet.
(c) The Bryson's dog.
(d) A helicopter.

4. In "The War on Drugs," what is wrong, according to Bryson, about the penalties for drug possession?
(a) He thinks the penalties should be harsher.
(b) He thinks the penalties for drug possession are too harsh.
(c) He thinks the laws favor the poor.
(d) He thinks the laws favor the rich.

5. What does Bill say is a strange feature of their car?
(a) The steering wheel is heated.
(b) It has no cup holders.
(c) It dispenses ice.
(d) There is an indentation on the dashboard with no obvious use.

6. When Bill phones the computer hotline to ask for help, what information do they ask him for first?
(a) His address.
(b) The computer's serial number.
(c) His date of birth.
(d) His Social Security number.

7. How do 40,000 Americans die a year, according to Bryson?
(a) By gunshot wounds.
(b) By contracting hepatitis.
(c) By falling under trains.
(d) By accidents on construction sites.

8. What does Bill find to be a difficult adjustment for him when he returns to the U.S.?
(a) He cannot find what he wants in the stores.
(b) He finds it very noisy.
(c) He has forgotten American English.
(d) He left as a young man and came back middle-aged.

9. Bill says the GDP is very hard to measure in modern times. What does GDP stand for?
(a) Gross Definitive Product.
(b) Grand Domestic Product.
(c) Gross Domestic Product.
(d) Grand Divisible Principles.

10. Bill is amazed that thousands of Americans end up in the emergency rooms every year from using certain things. What are they?
(a) Guns.
(b) Common household items.
(c) Snow blowers.
(d) Cars.

11. In the twenty years since Bryson left the United States, by how much have car numbers, roads, and mileage increased?
(a) By 10%.
(b) By half.
(c) By two times.
(d) By 100%.

12. Although the GDP is seen as a positive in economic terms, how does Bill say it can be negative?
(a) It does not help the poor.
(b) Some of it has to go to other countries.
(c) It is just too confusing.
(d) Production can cause pollution.

13. What does Bryson think is sad about how things are changing in modern Vermont?
(a) The weather is warming up.
(b) Pollution is increasing.
(c) More people now are born outside the state.
(d) There are too many Canadians there.

14. In "Design Flaws," what does Bill complain about, in regards to his computer?
(a) The CD player.
(b) The hard drive.
(c) The keyboard.
(d) The monitor.

15. According to Bryson, what is lacking in his New Hampshire town?
(a) Crime.
(b) Intelligent people.
(c) Good entertainment.
(d) Pollution.

Short Answer Questions

1. How many children do the Brysons have?

2. What British sport does Bill find dull but restful?

3. Bryson likes his privacy. Where does he especially find there is a lack of privacy in America?

4. In "Dying Accents," what is the name of the man who does carpentry around the Bryson house?

5. What does Bill like about having a college as part of he town he lives in?

(see the answer keys)

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