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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. According to Bryson, what did people in the past do when they flew?
(a) Ate and drank through the whole flight.
(b) Got sick a lot.
(c) Dressed up for it.
(d) Bought insurance for every flight.

2. In "A Slight Inconvenience," what does Bryson say about drive-through windows in restaurants?
(a) They are inefficient.
(b) That people will spend more time in line than if they went in.
(c) They save people a lot of time.
(d) They are unsanitary.

3. According to Bryson, when was the first official Thanksgiving held in the United States?
(a) In September of 1922.
(b) In August of 1863.
(c) In November of 1864.
(d) In October of 1640.

4. How did Bryson describe his first run on a snowmobile?
(a) As a jolly good time.
(b) As awesome.
(c) As too slow for him.
(d) As a waking nightmare.

5. Why does Bryson have to buy a whole new computer and fax system when he returns to the United States?
(a) All his electronics got lost on the way.
(b) His kids were tired of using the family's 1980s model.
(c) He'd never owned a computer but now needed one for work.
(d) The British have a different electrical system.

6. What is Bryson satirizing in "Your New Computer"?
(a) Computer stores.
(b) Bill Gates.
(c) Computer salespeople.
(d) Computer manuals.

7. Who does Bryson say designed the snowmobile?
(a) Thomas Edison.
(b) Satan.
(c) His friend Danny Blanchflower.
(d) Joseph Armand Bombardier.

8. Where does Mrs. Bryson like to go in the summer that Bill can definitely live without?
(a) To Connecticut.
(b) The seaside.
(c) The mountains.
(d) Back home to England.

9. What does Bryson say about the New England summers?
(a) They are dull and rainy.
(b) They are too hot.
(c) They are boring.
(d) They are short.

10. In "The Flying Nightmare," what job does Bryson say his father had?
(a) A singer.
(b) A salesman.
(c) A sportswriter.
(d) A pilot.

11. What house feature does Bryson miss from his childhood?
(a) The out house.
(b) The spare bedroom.
(c) The back shed.
(d) The screened porch.

12. Which decade saw the idea of the drive-in really take off?
(a) The 1940s.
(b) The 1960s.
(c) The 1950s.
(d) The 1930s.

13. What word associated with Christmas does Bryson wonder about at the beginning of "The Mysteries of Christmas"?
(a) Yule.
(b) A-wassailing.
(c) Merry.
(d) Noel.

14. What did Bryson's parents give him for Christmas when he was eight?
(a) A doll.
(b) A chemistry set.
(c) Skis.
(d) Skates.

15. How was the first "drive-in" movie shown in New Jersey in the 1930's?
(a) In a deserted baseball park.
(b) In a tennis court.
(c) On Richard Hollingshead's garage door.
(d) On a school's outside wall.

Short Answer Questions

1. Bryson says there are three types of stores. The first is where you cannot get anyone to help you, and the second is full of clerks who will not leave you alone. What does he say about the third type?

2. What is the main point Bryson is making in "Your Tax Form Explained"?

3. How much energy does Bryson say the average American uses compared to the average European?

4. When looking for a place to live in the United States, what was the only thing Bryson liked about Adams, Massachusetts?

5. What surprising statistic does Bryson share about the number of lawyers in America?

(see the answer keys)

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