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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Williams say that people of color excel at, more so than any white person?
(a) Cooking and planning a gourmet menu.
(b) Dancing and playing sports.
(c) Cleanliness and picking out beautiful fabrics to wear.
(d) Singing jazz music and spirituals.

2. Which Founding Father refers to Aaron Burr as dangerous?
(a) Benjamin Franklin.
(b) James Madison.
(c) Thomas Jefferson.
(d) Alexander Hamilton.

3. What does Williams admire about Poe's choice of words?
(a) Poe's words are beautiful to listen to if you read them out loud.
(b) Poe's words are not associated with anything else but thoughts and ideas.
(c) Poe's words can be recognized out of context because they are so original.
(d) Poe's words carry shades of other meanings that come from their usage elsewhere.

4. How does Williams say that intense emotions affect our perceptions of things?
(a) They make everything better.
(b) They make everything confusing.
(c) They make everything larger.
(d) They make everything harder.

5. What does the "Poor Richard" narrator say is a common misconception that Europeans have about America?
(a) It is a dangerous place because there are so many Indian raids.
(b) Americans place a high value on leisure time and do not like to work.
(c) It is very hard to earn a living by farming in America.
(d) They can move there and quickly be elected to political office.

6. Why does Franklin recommend against trying to make money in America through manufacturing?
(a) Few ships travel to America, so manufacturers could not market their goods to foreign ports.
(b) America does not have enough raw materials to do well at manufacturing any items of commercial value.
(c) There are no cities in America in which to build manufacturing plants.
(d) To do well in manufacturing, you need large numbers of poor people who are willing to work for low wages.

7. Why does Williams think that Burr did not get along with Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson?
(a) They did not approve of Burr's affairs with women.
(b) They campaigned against Burr when he ran for office.
(c) They favored a stronger central government than he did.
(d) They had not gotten along since the first time they had met.

8. What part of Poe's reputation does Williams say is undeserved?
(a) His reputation for the strange and macabre.
(b) His reputation for criticizing other writers.
(c) His reputation for eccentricity.
(d) His reputation for poetic braggadocio.

9. How does Jones say he reacted to the damage incurred by the Bon Homme Richard?
(a) He tried his best to keep the ship afloat long enough to bring it into port.
(b) He immediately evacuated all his men and supplies off the ship.
(c) He made a few repairs and then decided to abandon ship.
(d) He had the ship sunk on purpose because it was no longer able to sail.

10. What feature does Williams say most shapes Edgar Allen Poe's work?
(a) His religion.
(b) His education.
(c) His ancestry.
(d) His locality.

11. What does the narrator's interlocutor, Valyry Larbaud, admire about the Puritans?
(a) Their intellectual ability.
(b) Their tolerance of other religions.
(c) Their firm vigor.
(d) Their resourcefulness.

12. What does Poe call Longfellow?
(a) A plagiarist.
(b) A shyster.
(c) A thief.
(d) An ignoramus.

13. What does Williams say that American families cheat their daughters out of by trying to frighten them into delaying the loss of their virginity?
(a) Sex.
(b) Love.
(c) Romance.
(d) Dignity.

14. What does Williams compare the various incidents of Lincoln's life to?
(a) Lines in a carefully crafted poem.
(b) Dancers doing a series of intricately choreographed steps.
(c) Ridges of a sculpture that should be made of Lincoln.
(d) Instruments playing in an orchestra.

15. What warning does Williams give the reader about history at the beginning of "The Virtue of History"?
(a) History is often bound by prejudice.
(b) History never lies.
(c) History never tells the truth.
(d) History is written by the victors.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to the narrator, what was Boone's emotional state when he lived alone in the wilderness for three months?

2. What reason does the narrator give for believing that Americans have trouble understanding their own national character?

3. Who does the narrator say was the only American ever to see General Washington in a towering rage?

4. What does Jacataqua ask Aaron Burr to do?

5. What does the narrator say was the place where Washington most liked to be?

(see the answer keys)

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