View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. The first avalanche victim was ________________ on February 21st, 1884.

2. Nineteen have died due to hot springs and ______________ were children.

3. The worst accident happened June 28th, __________, when Andy C. Hect, 9, was walking with his family along Crested Pool near Old Faithful.

4. What court case was created because of this incident?

5. How many human deaths have occurred because of poisonous gases?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are the two naturally occurring poisonous gases at Yellowstone? Where can they be found? Why is this important to know?

2. What led to a lessening of the risk of death due to trees falling? Is this good or bad?

3. Why is death due to falling trees a real threat at Yellowstone?

4. Why were people killed in the 1930s by bears? Why might the bears have killed in these cases?

5. How does the author treat the deaths in this book? Why does he treat them in this way?

6. When people feed bears, who is at fault? Why?

7. How are winters at Yellowstone dangerous?

8. What is surprising about bears at Yellowstone? Why might this be true?

9. How many dangerous plants exist in Yellowstone? Name one of them. How is this plant dangerous? Why is this important to know?

10. Describe the author of this book. How does this background information on the author reveal about his reasons for writing this book?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

There have been strong reactions to the deaths of those killed in Yellowstone.

Part 1) Describe a death at Yellowstone. What were the reactions to this death? Are you surprised by these reactions? Why or why not? Is this an appropriate way to handle this death? Why or why not?

Part 2) How have the deaths at Yellowstone affected the park itself? How have they also affected those who work at and visit the park? How has the park changed over time due to these deaths? Are these good changes? Why or why not? Would the author see these as good changes? Why or why not?

Part 3) How have deaths elsewhere in the U.S. affected the places in which those deaths occurred? In general, is enough done to protect others from such deaths? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

There have been several horse-related fatalities.

Part 1) Describe the use of the horse in the park's history. Why were horses so important? How did this change over time? Why did this change over time? How did this evolution affect Yellowstone?

Part 2) Describe four horse-related fatalities. Why did they take place? Could they have been prevented? If so, how? If not, why not? Who was found to be at fault, the victim, the park, or others? Why? Does the author agree with this decision? Why or why not?

Part 3) Overall, was the use of horses in the park a serious danger? Why or why not? How does this compare to the use of the automobile?

Essay Topic 3

Yellowstone National Park is a beautiful place yet it is full of fatal dangers.

Part 1) Describe Yellowstone National Park. How is it beautiful, yet dangerous? Why is this important to the author that the reader understand? How is the author's background and interests tied to the writing of this book?

Part 2) What is the purpose of this book? Does the author fulfill this purpose? If so, how? If not, why not? Can you relate to the purpose of this book? Why or why not?

Part 3) How might other places around the world be both beautiful and dangerous? Might the information in this book pertain to those places as well? Why or why not? What can be learned about the U.S. view of dangerous and beautiful places such as Yellowstone through this book? How might this compare to other views around the world?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,114 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample