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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. Who is the only Marine in the group of seven astronauts?
(a) John Glenn.
(b) Alan Shepard.
(c) Pete Conrad.
(d) Gus Grissom.

2. When the book begins, where is the Naval Air Station that Pete Conrad is stationed at?
(a) Florida.
(b) California.
(c) Nevada.
(d) Texas.

3. What is the nickname given to Project Mercury by the top pilots at the base?
(a) Monkeys in Space.
(b) The Flying Chimpanzees.
(c) Spam in a Can.
(d) Corpses in a Capsule.

4. When Gus Grissom's wife gives birth to their first child, where is Gus?
(a) On a top-secret mission.
(b) On base, completing his flight training.
(c) In the delivery room.
(d) Fighting overseas in Korea.

5. Who originally pilots the X-1 aircraft?
(a) Jim Lovell.
(b) Pete Conrad.
(c) Chuck Yeager.
(d) Slick Goodlin.

Short Answer Questions

1. The pilots hold Konakai seances. What is Konakai?

2. How are wives notified if their husband is injured or killed during a test flight?

3. What is the subject of the first press conference question?

4. How many kills does Yeager have by the end of World War II?

5. Who is the biggest practical joker among the volunteers?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Gus Grissom feel that the reporter's question regarding whether or not the pilots feel they would come back from space is a stupid question?

2. According to the author, why does every pilot sound the same and talk with a lilting, vaguely Southern-sounding drawl?

3. Why do many pilots choose to try to pilot a wounded aircraft to the ground rather than eject?

4. What is the procedures trainer?

5. Name three tests conducted at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base on the pilots.

6. The training program for the chimpanzees is based on operant conditioning. Describe what that means for the chimpanzees.

7. Why do Chuck Yeager's comments in Phoenix almost set off a national scandal? What happens to avoid the scandal?

8. Why don't the wives ever discuss the dangers their husbands face each day?

9. What is the begrudging consensus finally reached from the Konakai Séance regarding their "off hours" behavior?

10. The morning after the press conference, the newspapers are full of stories about the astronauts. What do the stories highlight?

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