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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. In what type of country does the city of Daintree sit?

2. Sherwin was more _____________ than Bryson was on this trip.

3. What did Bryson agree to while having a bit too much to drink at a pub in Daly Waters?

4. Why did Bryson want to switch hotels?

5. Where did Captain Cook first lay eyes on Australia?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was unique about the worms Bryson saw in a small museum?

2. How did Bryson and Sherwin spend their time while waiting out the monsoon in Cairns?

3. What did Bryson report about the indiscriminate murder of Aborigines and the Myall Creek incident in particular?

4. What famous tree did Bryson and Sherwin see in the town of Daly Waters?

5. Other than dangerous animals, what is an ever-constant threat to Australia's environment?

6. Describe the Devils Marbles.

7. How can the reader tell that Uluru was Bryson's favorite site during his Australia trip?

8. How has the Aborigine population dwindled from the time Europeans arrived to colonize Australia?

9. Describe the miserable time that Bryson and Sherwin had in the city of Darwin.

10. What unusual trees are important to Australia and where did Bryson walk among the tree tops?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Bryson is masterful at crafting literary descriptions for his readers. Choose a paragraph from the book which you find especially descriptive. How do you think Bryson was able to craft it the way he did? What is so appealing to you about the passage? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

Bryson had respect for all of the people in the book but do you think he likes any one of them more than the others? Who would you choose to be your new friend among the people Bryson introduced in the book. Explain.

Essay Topic 3

At times it seemed as if Bryson were more interested in places and history than in the people he met in Australia. Why was Bryson in a fact-finding mode for this book? Were the people distractions to his true work? What is your opinion on how Bryson approached his method for digging for information to include in his book?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,207 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample