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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 "Pretty Nancy," what does Joan say Nancy's husband is the "definition of" (35)?
(a) Nice Guy.
(b) Good Old Boy.
(c) Career Politician.
(d) Good Husband.

2. What kind of talk does Didion find unsettling during the meeting in "Getting Serenity"?
(a) Talk of death and dying.
(b) Talk of lying and stealing.
(c) Talk of miracles and Higher Powers.
(d) Obsession with dates and numbers.

3. What is one of the words Didion uses to describe the way the Hearsts spend their money in "A Trip to Xanadu"?
(a) Responsibility.
(b) Frivolously.
(c) Flamboyance.
(d) Conservatively.

4. What is written on Frank L.'s cake in "Getting Serenity"?
(a) Happy Birthday.
(b) Miracles Still Happen.
(c) Nice Job, Frank!
(d) Happy Anniversary.

5. Who is signed as the Director of Admissions on the rejection letter Joan Didion discusses in "On Being Unchosen by the College of One's Choice"?
(a) Rixford K. Snyder.
(b) Rex P. Smith.
(c) Redford K. Barboza.
(d) Robert J. Snider.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where did the second speaker in "Getting Serenity" first start gambling?

2. What year was Walter Davis from "Fathers, Sons, Screaming Eagles" stationed in Holland?

3. What does one meeting attendee tell Joan happens to kids upon the first time entering a gambling club?

4. What are Didion and the TV crew there to observe Nancy doing in "Pretty Nancy"?

5. From where could people see the castle Didion discusses in "A Trip to Xanadu"?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How did Joan's father react when she told him she did not get into Stanford in "On Being Unchosen by the College of One's Choice"?

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

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

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

6. What example does Joan use to express how much more difficult things have gotten regarding parents trying to ensure their children get into their college of choice?

7. What does Nancy Reagan show Joan at the State Capital and what does she say about it?

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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