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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What food does Gopnik miss more than any other American food in Distant Errors?

2. What movie star did Gopnik and his cousin fall in love with, when they were boys?

3. What is Gopnik's model of fax machine?

4. Where was the Givenchy show held in Couture Shock?

5. When Gopnik sits on a panel in Distant Errors, who does the panel blame for the American dominance of culture?

Short Essay Questions

1. What game does Adam play with Luke at the Ritz pool?

2. Why don't people buy the one thousand outfits exhibited at the haute couture shows?

3. Describe the Ritz pool.

4. What did Gopnik observe of the other patrons after he dove into the pool at the Ritz?

5. What request does Jerome Meyssonier make when he agrees to be taken hostage in The Chill?

6. What do men generally discuss to break the ice in France?

7. What unique action does Gopnik observe at the Valentino show in Paris?

8. What idea does Alice have for a restaurant in the Louvre?

9. Describe the appearance of the Balzar.

10. Why does the midwife advise Adam not to tell the cab driver that Martha is in labor when they go to the hospital?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Gopnik highlight the theme of observation, and how does he connect this theme with the importance of writing?

Essay Topic 2

How does the French cooking tradition differ from the American cooking tradition and how does this translate to the French appreciation of food?

Essay Topic 3

How does Gopnik establish the dichotomy between French and American thought in the novel? Illustrate it through at least three anecdotes?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 659 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample