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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What characteristic of his father's does Krakauer mention as a flaw?
(a) That his father worked too many jobs.
(b) That his father could never admit to being wrong.
(c) That his father never climbed a mountain.
(d) That his father was too kind to everyone.

2. What similarity is there between Jon's relationship with his father and Chris's relationship with Walt?
(a) Both fathers turned out to be bigamists.
(b) Secrets were revealed and both young men resented the hypocracy.
(c) Both fathers were weak willed and seldom gave their children advice.
(d) Both fathers were old and out of touch.

3. What is prominently displayed in Carine McCandless's home?
(a) Two photographs of her brother, Chris.
(b) A painting she did of her brother, Chris.
(c) A scrapbook of news clippings about Chris.
(d) All of Chris's track trophies.

4. August 12, Chris left the bus to forage for berries. What did the note he left on the door say?
(a) It was a desperate plea for assistance signed with his real name.
(b) "If I do not return, look for me north of the bus."
(c) "There is stew on the stove, go in and help yourself."
(d) "Gone fishing, be back in one hour."

5. What gift did Walt give Billie after the birth of Chris?
(a) A vacation in Paris.
(b) A 3-carat diamond ring.
(c) The Gianni guitar that was left in the yellow Datson.
(d) A leather bound copy of Leaves of Grass.

6. How did Chris travel the 1,000 miles from Laird, Alaska, to Fairbanks?
(a) Jim Gallien gave him a lift.
(b) A truck driver named Gaylord Stuckey picked him up.
(c) Hitchhiking, he got a series of rides.
(d) He walked most of the way.

7. Why does Krakauer relate his own experiences in Chapter 14?
(a) To see if he is any different now as a mature man.
(b) To show how he was so much better than Chris.
(c) To prove that he had no right to write about Chris.
(d) To show his affinity with Chris.

8. What did Billie leave in the bus?
(a) Three heavy blankets.
(b) A set of steel plates and cups.
(c) A down coat and some matches.
(d) A suitcase filled with emergency food supplies.

9. What does Krakauer think actually killed Chris?
(a) Poisonous leaves he was reduced to eating.
(b) The wild potato seeds he was eating.
(c) Tainted canned goods he found in the bus.
(d) Choking on rabbit bones.

10. What spurred Krakauer on after his failed attempt to climb Devil's Thumb?
(a) A spider that keeps working after its web breaks.
(b) His mood after he naps.
(c) The prospect of defeat.
(d) The fact that he has enough food to try again.

11. What sad discovery does Krakauer make just a quarter mile down stream on the river?
(a) There is a ranger station stocked with all kinds of food.
(b) There is an old bridge that a person could walk across.
(c) There is evidence that Chris came that far and went back.
(d) At the now defunct station, a steel cable stretches across the river with an aluminum basket suspended from this cable by pulleys.

12. What connection did Jim Gallien make when he read the article about Chris's death?
(a) The .22-caliber rifle they found in the bus was the same as the hitchhiker's he'd given a ride to.
(b) The empty bag of rice the article said the police found in the bus reminded him of the hitchhiker he'd picked up.
(c) The rubber boots the news article mentioned were the ones he'd given Chris.
(d) Chris was the young hitchhiker he had given a ride to the Stampede Trail.

13. What happened 10 months after Chris's death?
(a) Ten months after McCandless's death, Krakauer, Billie and Walt took a helicopter to the bus site.
(b) Carine had a dream about Chris.
(c) Billie and Walt got a divorce.
(d) The company that owns the bus took it away.

14. What was in the McCandless house that speaks to the feelings of Walt and Billie McCandless toward Chris?
(a) A photo memorial to Chris on the dining room table.
(b) Clippings of newspaper articles and magazine stories about Chris.
(c) All of Chris's track trophies lined up on the mantle.
(d) No photos of Chris in the house.

15. What daunting challenge did Krakauer set for himself as a young man?
(a) To ski down Mt. McKinley.
(b) To scale a mountain called the Devils Thumb alone.
(c) To prove that he is always right.
(d) To find out how much terror he can stand.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where did Chris leave from on April 15, 1992 on his journey to Alaska?

2. What was the skeleton in Walt's closet that stressed the whole family, Chris in particular?

3. What trait did sports reveal in Chris?

4. When Krakauer reached an impassable place on the mountain, what did he do?

5. What did Walt leave in the bus?

(see the answer keys)

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