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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Bryson say about American gardens?
(a) They are mostly weeds.
(b) They are mostly lawn.
(c) They are mostly bushes.
(d) They are mostly roses.

2. Why does Bill prefer the post offices in the U.S. to the ones in Britain?
(a) The U.S. post offices only deal with mail.
(b) The U.S. postal charges are very low.
(c) Each town has one.
(d) The buildings are clean and new.

3. Why does Bill feel going to a restaurant is a discouraging experience?
(a) He's a picky eater.
(b) He hates the high prices.
(c) He manages to antagonize the waitress.
(d) He's a vegan.

4. After living in Britain for twenty years, what does Bill find refreshingly different about the United States?
(a) The fashions.
(b) The weather.
(c) The government.
(d) The informality.

5. Why does Bryson think the cupholder revolution is a bit strange?
(a) Some cars have way more cupholders than capacity for passengers.
(b) Americans are spoiled and want every little convenience.
(c) The car makers should make better cars and forget the cupholders.
(d) People shouldn't be drinking and driving.

6. What does Bill say is a big improvement in America concerning business phone numbers?
(a) The 1-800 numbers are easy to remember.
(b) Business calls cannot be made into people's homes.
(c) They are preprogrammed on everyone's phone.
(d) They are only four-digits.

7. What does Bill hate about flying now that he is back in the U.S.?
(a) Having to show photo identification at the airport.
(b) No meals are served.
(c) The snacks are terrible.
(d) The price of tickets.

8. What does Bill say about the barber in his new hometown?
(a) He only seems to know hairstyles from the 1950's.
(b) He reads more books than Bill does.
(c) He is fresh out of barber school and eager to try new things.
(d) He could talk the hind leg off a donkey.

9. What is one complaint Bryson has about the small towns around him?
(a) That he can't find a decent dentist.
(b) There are no libraries.
(c) That everyone uses their car to get around.
(d) That people are rude.

10. What is Bill's wife's reaction to his new American haircut?
(a) She says he must have said something to upset the barber.
(b) She loves it.
(c) She bursts into tears.
(d) She says she wants to send their sons there, too.

11. What does Bill say is ridiculous about a VCR?
(a) It has no remote.
(b) It is being replaced by a DVD player.
(c) It can record twelve months in advance.
(d) It costs so much.

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

13. What did the town of Laconia, New Hampshire, have to do about its new sidewalks and benches in its town center?
(a) Refit them for use in a movie.
(b) Refit them for handicapped residents.
(c) Sanitize them.
(d) Remove them because no one was using them.

14. What is one activity that Bill is happy to return to in America?
(a) Football.
(b) Paying taxes.
(c) Baseball.
(d) Shopping.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What disappeared in the north woods of New Hampshire in 1996 and was never found?

2. According to Bryson in "Why No One Walks," how far does the average American walk in a day?

3. What does Bill find strange about some U.S. commercials?

4. What does Bryson say that all New Englanders do?

5. Bill is amazed that thousands of Americans end up in the emergency rooms every year from using certain things. What are they?

(see the answer keys)

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