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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the first thing that the captain and crew of the Dauphin notice when they see the smaller boat?
(a) A fire.
(b) The bones on the ship.
(c) The men on the ship.
(d) A flag.

2. As described in Chapter 1, what does the sighting of a comet indicate?
(a) There will be good weather for the next month.
(b) There will be good weather for the next year.
(c) Something horrible is going to happen.
(d) Something unusual is going to happen.

3. After stopping at the Cape Verde Islands in Chapter 3, how many spare whale boats does the Essex now have?
(a) One.
(b) Two.
(c) Four.
(d) Three.

4. What type of whale attacks Pollard's boat in Chapter 7?
(a) Sperm whale.
(b) Killer whale.
(c) Humpback whale.
(d) Blue whale.

5. What do Pollard and Daniel Russell, the captain of the Aurora, discuss in Chapter 4?
(a) The remaining time of the Aurora's trip.
(b) The discovery of a new whaling ground.
(c) The remaining time of the Essex's trip.
(d) The discovery of other whaling boats off the coast.

Short Answer Questions

1. In what year does the story take place in?

2. If the Essex returns with sufficient product, how much money is Thomas Nickerson expecting to make from the trip?

3. What happens when Chase's boat attempts to approach a whale on November 16?

4. Why does Pollard think that backtracking to the Galapagos Islands is impossible in Chapter 6?

5. What do the men do in order to prevent water from splashing over the edges of the remaining boats?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the Dauphin find in the Preface?

2. How successful is the Essex off the coast of Peru?

3. What happens when the Essex meets the Aurora?

4. How is Nantucket described in Chapter 1?

5. What complaint does the crew bring to Pollard at the end of Chapter 3, and how does he handle it?

6. What setbacks are the three boats having as they approach the Society Islands at the end of Chapter 7?

7. As explained in Chapter 2, what route does a Nantucket whale ship normally take?

8. What modifications are made to the whale boats in the beginning of Chapter 6?

9. How is the Essex attacked by the whale and what happens to the ship as a result?

10. How are the three whale boats divided and stocked for the trip at the end of Chapter 6?

(see the answer keys)

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