I. Happy New Year! Besides the Times Square ball, the glorious American mosaic of things scheduled to be dropped around the nation on New Year’s Eve also included all but which one of the following:
A) The Brasstown, N.C., Possum Drop
B) Dillsburg, Pa.’s giant pickle
C) The Elmore, Ohio, Sausage Drop
D) Seaside Heights, N.J., first annual dropping of Nicole (Snooki) Polizzi
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II. Finish the quote:
1) After the lame-duck session, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said: “When it’s all going to be said and done, Harry Reid has
A) brought us together.”
B) eaten our lunch.”
C) eaten a lot of late-night pizza.”
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2) John Boehner, the incoming House speaker, broke into tears on election night and weepily announced: “I’ve spent my whole life chasing
A) the American dream.”
B) women.”
C) cars.”
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3) “Oh, my gosh! It’s so important,” Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts said sarcastically during a recent debate. “I’m glad I rushed back from our break to work on:
A) earmarks.”
B) food safety.”
C) tax cuts for the wealthy.”
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III. Identify the speaker:
1) “They cheat. They are serial cheaters.”
A) Senator James Risch of Idaho, speaking in opposition to a nuclear arms treaty with Russia.
B) Cuckolded former aide to Senator John Ensign of Nevada, on the Republican caucus.
C) Tiger Woods, on the golf tour.
D) Unsuccessful “Dancing With the Stars” finalist, on Bristol Palin’s family.
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2) “Balloons and ballrooms are not my thing.”
A) John Boehner, explaining his teariness at postelection victory party.
B) Bristol Palin, analyzing her ultimate defeat on “Dancing With the Stars.”
C) Harry Reid, describing his partying skills.
D) Andrew Cuomo, the new governor of New York, on his plans for a “new austerity” swearing-in.
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3) “There’s no one who wants this over more than I do.”
A) Mayor Michael Bloomberg on the New York City snowstorm.
B) President Obama on the 111th Congress.
C) Tony Hayward, the former chief executive of BP, on the oil spill.
D) Sarah Palin on filming the last episode of her reality show.
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4) “What I said was stupid, stupid, stupid.”
A) U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina of California after making fun of Senator Barbara Boxer’s hair.
B) Rod Blagojevich for saying he was blacker than Obama.
C) Christine O’Donnell for the “I am not a witch” ad.
D) Kate Middleton for announcing she and Prince William do not want any household help.
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IV. Multiple choice:
1) The Wall Street Journal reported that at least 15 percent of the incoming House freshman plan to:
A) Sleep in their offices.
B) Use the word “refudiate” in their official correspondence.
C) Twitter 24/7.
D) Try to get invited to Prince William’s wedding.
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2) John Boehner told Lesley Stahl that he can no longer visit public schools in his district because:
A) They’ve all been closed.
B) He hates that cloakroom smell.
C) He cries when he thinks of the importance of giving them a shot at the American dream.
D) He’s afraid he’ll be asked to spell “potato.”
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V. Match Republican presidential hopefuls with their 2010 achievements. (One hopeful gets two):
1. Sarah Palin
2. Haley Barbour
3. Tim Pawlenty
4. Mike Huckabee
5. Mitt Romney
6. Newt Gingrich
A) On a visit to Iowa, introduced his spouse to the audience as “my red-hot, smoking wife.”
B) Took six shots to kill a caribou that was, really, just standing there.
C) Continued to fail to explain why he drove to Canada with the family dog strapped to the roof of the car.
D) Said he doesn’t remember what the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said during a 1962 civil rights speech at his hometown because he was “watching the girls.”
E) Compared Democrats to Nazis; compared lower Manhattan mosque supporters to Nazis.
F) Family Christmas card said: “Guess which grandchild heard that Papa might run again?”
G) Demonstrated how to deep-fry a turkey on TV.
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ANSWERS: I: C (the Sausage Drop was canceled because of a lack of volunteers); II: 1-B, 2-A, 3-B; III: 1-A, 2-C, 3-C, 4-B; IV: 1-A, 2-C; V: 1-B, 2-D, 3-A, 4-G, 5-C and F, 6-E.
