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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Sedaris suggests his brother is radically different from his other siblings because
(a) He is more refined than they are.
(b) He is much younger, and a North Carolina native.
(c) He is a North Carolina native with gentlemanly Southern values.
(d) He is the oldest, and therefore the most conservative.

2. Sedaris' friend Alisha describes most people as
(a) A handful.
(b) Sweet.
(c) Quirky.
(d) Nice.

3. Despite his experiences, Sedaris still finds the view of Manhattan and the fantasy of wealth
(a) Confining.
(b) Illusory.
(c) Inspiring.
(d) Contemptible.

4. Sedaris confesses his desire to perform what songs before an audience?
(a) Jazz classics.
(b) Pop songs.
(c) Blues classics.
(d) Commercial jingles.

5. The scientific term Sedaris fears his father will use is
(a) Bazillion.
(b) Aquatics.
(c) Googolplex.
(d) Pi.

6. Before Paul's personality fully emerged, his parents tried to interest him in
(a) Music and sports.
(b) Writing and painting.
(c) Girls and dating.
(d) Math and science.

7. Instead of the performance piece in the twelfth "moment," Sedaris seems to admire
(a) The beauty of the ordinary world around him.
(b) The metaphors apparent in the performance.
(c) The number of people attending the performance.
(d) The courage of the performer.

8. Sedaris compares the typewriter's antiquity to
(a) The printing press.
(b) Eight-track tapes and VCRs.
(c) Cassette players.
(d) Eight-track tapes and the quill.

9. What is Lou Sedaris excited about at the start of the essay?
(a) His daughter, Amy, is going to appear in a magazine article.
(b) David is going to appear in a magazine article.
(c) His daughter, Amy, is getting married.
(d) His daughter ,Amy, has lost a considerable amount of weight.

10. What adds to Sedaris' tension while he is in the bathroom?
(a) He needs to use the toilet himself.
(b) His friend keeps knocking on the door to hurry him up.
(c) He can hear the others beginning to talk about him outside.
(d) His friend keeps asking him what he is doing in there.

11. Amy Sedaris is fond of
(a) Dressing up and impersonating others.
(b) Having her picture taken for the newspaper.
(c) Impersonating her father.
(d) Gaining and losing weight haphazardly.

12. While Sedaris has been preoccupied with tanning, his father has been preoccupied with
(a) His fear of the ocean.
(b) The Miss Emollient Pageant.
(c) The price of beachfront property.
(d) Scientific questions.

13. One bi-product of new computer technology that Sedaris finds unfortunate is
(a) The family tree.
(b) The internet.
(c) YouTube.
(d) The family newsletter.

14. Bonnie is most interested in
(a) Visiting tourist traps.
(b) Following Sedaris' agenda.
(c) Learning about local culture.
(d) Staying inside to avoid New Yorkers.

15. Sedaris questions
(a) His own inability to go to the bathroom comfortably in public
(b) His own need for cleanliness.
(c) His own inability to leave the toilet unflushed, thereby assuming the guilt.
(d) Others inability to feel shame.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Sedaris prepare to teach his workshop?

2. Two extreme facets of Paul's personality are

3. Sedaris resents his father's approach toward art because

4. Rather than sports, Sedaris states that he and his fellow speech therapy students were more interested in

5. Mr. Mancini makes Sedaris uncomfortable by constantly referring to

(see the answer keys)

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