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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. In "Alicia and the Underground Press," what does Didion feel a reader can be sure of when the writer allows their bias to exist?
(a) You can be sure the writer is unprofessional.
(b) You can be sure the writer will be dishonest.
(c) You can be sure the writer will tell you what s/he truly thinks.
(d) You can be sure the writer's goal is to change your mind.

2. According to Didion in "A Trip to Xanadu," in what year did San Simeon become a state monument?
(a) 2020.
(b) 1985.
(c) 1979.
(d) 1958.

3. What type of flower does the TV newsman suggest Nancy pick in "Pretty Nancy"?
(a) Tulips.
(b) Roses.
(c) Rhododendrons.
(d) Daffodils.

4. One meeting attendee in "Getting Serenity" says his idea is getting what?
(a) A job.
(b) Serenity.
(c) Sober.
(d) Married.

5. How many nights does one of the speakers say he has been free from his addiction in "Getting Serenity"?
(a) 1,223.
(b) 365.
(c) 13.
(d) 87.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "A Trip to Xanadu," who does Didion say she took to tour San Simeon after it became a state monument?

2. What does the newsman want Nancy to do as she answers the first question he asks her in "Pretty Nancy"?

3. Rather than being adversaries, Didion says that writers for mainstream newspapers are now what?

4. In "On Being Unchosen by the College of One's Choice," what does Joan say her friend was disappointed about in her 4-year-old's reference letters?

5. Where does Nancy's daughter go to school in "Pretty Nancy"?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Skip Skivington and what does he tell Joan about his son in "Fathers, Sons, and Screaming Eagles"?

2. How does Didion describe the tone of the tour guides in "A Trip to Xanadu"?

3. What does Didion say underground papers are able to do that conventional papers cannot in "Alicia and the Underground Press"?

4. Describe the 22-year-old speaker in "Getting Serenity."

5. Describe Nancy Reagan's interaction with her son at the end of "Pretty Nancy"?

6. In "A Trip to Xanadu," what is the castle people could see from Highway 1 and who built it?

7. Where does Didion say she felt she needed to be in the days following the Gambler's Anonymous meeting in "Getting Serenity"?

8. How does Didion describe the way the Hearsts spent money in "A Trip to Xanadu"?

9. What happened to Joan on April 25, 1952 in "On Being Unchosen by the College of One's Choice" and how did she react?

10. What does Joan say about the "great adventure" the men who fought in the 1940s compared to their sons "great adventure" (40) in Vietnam?

(see the answer keys)

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