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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What message did Chris leave taped to the door of the bus?
(a) That he was near death.
(b) That he had staked a claim on this bus.
(c) That visitors were welcome.
(d) That he would return in an hour.

2. What did Chris make at Franz's house?
(a) A wallet to give to Franz.
(b) A pair of moccasins.
(c) A leather belt that depicted all his travels to date.
(d) A new leather backpack.

3. Why did Chris adopt the name Alex Burres?
(a) He realized he needed a second name.
(b) He liked the initials AB.
(c) He became a surrogate for Jan Burres's estranged son.
(d) He took it when people thought he was Jan's son.

4. What complication did Chris face while living in The Slabs?
(a) He could produce no identification when the border patrol came to the camp.
(b) He got into an argument with Jan Burres.
(c) Tracy, a 17-year-old girl developed a huge crush on him.
(d) The other drifters believed he was an undercover cop.

5. At which stop did Chris remain for the longest time?
(a) In Bullhead City, Arizona.
(b) In Fairbanks, Alaska.
(c) On the coast in Oregon.
(d) Back at the Westenberg's house.

6. Who did Chris meet on a trip into Salton City to get some supplies?
(a) A waitress at the small cafe.
(b) Westerberg, who is looking for work.
(c) A drifter he knew at The Slab.
(d) Ron Franz, an 80-year-old man.

7. What was Chris's plan for after college that he did not tell his family?
(a) He planed to go live in Mexico.
(b) He planed to go on an indefinite road trip.
(c) He planed to marry a girl his parents did not approve of.
(d) He planed to commit suicide.

8. What response does Krakauer report that he got from his OUTSIDE Magazine article on Chris?
(a) Most people thought Krakauer had made up the story.
(b) They were mostly critical of Chris's ignorance.
(c) Most people applauded Chris's spirit.
(d) Most people wanted to know more about Chris's family life.

9. What did Krakauer include in the book besides events he uncovered from the life of Chris McCandless?
(a) Some allusions to Huckelberry Finn.
(b) Adventures of several other young men.
(c) Facts and figures from the U. S. Census Bureau.
(d) Some of his own experiences as a young man.

10. What does Ruess's biographer, Ken Sleight, believe happened to Ruess?
(a) Accidental drowning.
(b) Ruess changed his name and disappeared.
(c) Falling from a cliff.
(d) A robbery and murder.

11. How does Krakauer answer Chris's critics?
(a) He maintains that Chris knew what he was doing and almost made it.
(b) He shows how Chris would have survived had it not been for an accident.
(c) He challenges anyone to do it better than Chris did.
(d) Krakauer cites several examples of marginal individuals who have died in the Alaskan wilderness, presenting the details of their cases to show that McCandless was not the typical foolish greenhorn.

12. Where did Chris meet Wayne Westerberg?
(a) In Los Angeles.
(b) In Fairbanks, Alaska.
(c) In Carthage, South Dakota.
(d) On the Colorado River.

13. In Chris's relationships with people, what is the most striking contradiction?
(a) His coldness toward his parents and his warmth with people he met in his travels.
(b) His ambivalence to his family and his hatred of the people he met.
(c) His love for his family but his inability to show it.
(d) His hurtfulness toward his family and his refusal to help anyone else.

14. Where did Chris's canoe trip eventually take him after going as far as he could down the Colorado River?
(a) He retraced his way back upstream.
(b) He ended up staying with a Mexican family for six weeks.
(c) Some duck hunters agreed to drive him to the Gulf of California.
(d) He headed South and ended up in Acapulco.

15. Still calling himself by another name, Chris met two drifters who befriend him. Who were they?
(a) Jan Burres and her boyfriend Bob.
(b) Martha Burres and her son Tom.
(c) Betty Burres and her father Edgar.
(d) Jane Burres and her nephew Fred.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where did Chris McCandless come from?

2. Where had Chris McCandless attended school and graduated with honors?

3. What happened when the moose hunters got to the bus where they plan to camp out?

4. Who had left Chris a $40,000 inheritance for his school?

5. What feat did Waterman achieve in 1978?

(see the answer keys)

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