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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. According to Bryson, why did a store in Michigan win a case brought against them by a customer?
(a) The customer had a history of suing every business in town.
(b) It had a really good lawyer.
(c) The store had a right to hire armed guards
(d) The store had a right to protect itself from shoplifting

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

3. What does Bill like about having a college as part of he town he lives in?
(a) His kids can go there for free.
(b) It keeps the taxes down.
(c) He and his family can use their facilities.
(d) It has snob appeal.

4. How does Bryson begin "Tales of the North Woods?"
(a) He talks about the town that disappeared, and no one has found it.
(b) He talks about a college student who left a party and died in the woods.
(c) He talks about using a snowmobile.
(d) He talks about shoveling snow.

5. Bryson finds summer blockbuster movies annoying, but what does he have a real problem with?
(a) The large cinema complexes.
(b) The behavior of children at the movie.
(c) The cost of popcorn.
(d) The cost of admission.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "The Risk Factor," what does Bryson say an American is twice as likely to do as a British person?

2. In "The War on Drugs," what is wrong, according to Bryson, about the penalties for drug possession?

3. In "The Numbers Game," what does Bill say is beyond the comprehension of everyone?

4. What product first reveals the popularity of toll-free hotline phone numbers to Bill?

5. What does Bryson say about American gardens?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Bryson hate calling the computer helpline, as he outlines in "Help!"? How does he react to hotlines in general?

2. In "The War on Drugs," what examples does Bryson give to prove his belief about American drug laws being unfair?

3. In "On the Hotline," how does dental floss become the topic of this essay? What is the outcome of Bryson's reading the fine print on his floss packaging?

4. In "The Inefficiency Report," Bryson says "Our subject today is large-scale incompetence in my native land." Give some examples of what he believes are areas of incompetence in 1990s America.

5. In "Rule Number 1: Follow All Rules,"what does Bryson use as an example of a rule that must be followed in America? How does he compare the devotion to order in the U.S. and Britain?

6. How does Bryson feel about gardening? What are his feelings concerning gardening with his mate in "Gardening With My Wife"?

7. Summarize Bryson's trip to the supermarket in "Junk-Food Heaven." Include why he went shopping in the first place, what he saw at the store, and what was the ultimate outcome of that trip.

8. In "Coming Home" Bryson says he is "gamely assessing" the concept of not being able to go home again. What circumstances took him away from the United States in the 1970s? How did he spend the following two decades in England? What is his reaction on returning to the United States in 1996?

9. Why does Bryson find going to a restaurant in the United States so difficult, as expressed in "What's Cooking"? How does he address the issue of the many varieties of food out there?

10. In "A Visit to the Barbershop," how does Bryson convey that adjusting to the small town barbershop is difficult?

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