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

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

3. Why is Bryson not impressed with the spell checker on his computer?
(a) It often just does not work at all.
(b) It doesn't recognize surnames.
(c) It only displays in red.
(d) It doesn't recognize nonstandard spelling.

4. What does Bryson fondly remember about highway travel when he was a boy?
(a) The billboards.
(b) The scenery.
(c) The rest stops.
(d) The lack of transport trucks.

5. Which American business name mystifies Bryson?
(a) IHOP.
(b) Toys R Us.
(c) Burger King.
(d) Dunkin' Donuts.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Bryson hate about Christmas?

2. What is Bryson's observations on the conveniences of life in America in the 1990s?

3. In "How to Rent a Car," what does Bryson find especially frustrating about the process?

4. When Bryson had his first book published, what did his publisher send him to?

5. According to Bryson, what makes up for the long New England winters?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "Lost in Cyberland," what kind of adventures does Bryson have with technology in America?

2. Bryson relates his sad tale of trying to rent a car when he went to the Boston airport in "How to Rent a Car." What are some of the problems he encountered?

3. "Your Tax Form Explained", what does Bryson satirize? Give three examples of how he does this.

4. In "The Wasteland," what is Bryson criticizing? Name three points of his criticism.

5. Bryson looks at obesity in "The Fat of the Land." Name three statistics he mentions in relation to obesity.

6. In "Shopping Madness," Bryson says there is a discipline called "retail anthropology." What is it ? What are some of the things it studies?

7. In "On Losing a Son," what does Bryson say his main activities are as a father sending his son off to college?

8. In "A Day at the Seaside," what does Mrs. Bryson suggest the family do? How does Bill react to this?

9. In "Life's Mysteries," Bryson lists a very large number of things that he doesn't understand. What are four of these things?

10. Bryson explains the joys of living in a snowy climate in "Fun in the Snow." How does he give the reader the impression that he is not a natural athlete?

(see the answer keys)

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