View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Even though Hawaii's Hilo is often threatened by lava flows, Hilo has thus far been protected because:
(a) A tall mountain stands between Hilo and the lava.
(b) Of man-made barriers.
(c) Flows stop within a dozen to one mile of the port.
(d) A freshwater stream slows the lava flow.

2. What is Thorbjorn Sigurgeirsson's idea to stop the flow of lava?
(a) Redirecting it.
(b) Digging channels and ditches.
(c) Cooling it.
(d) Building a metal wall.

3. Officials propose to protect Hilo, Hawaii's second-largest city and port, against lava flows through what?
(a) Plexiglass shields.
(b) Relocation.
(c) Barriers.
(d) Careful monitoring.

4. Results of the U.S. Army Air Corps' actions on an insulating vent on Mauna Loa volcano in 1935 cannot be confirmed because:
(a) The volcano stops erupting.
(b) The Corps' loses funding.
(c) Workers can't get close enough.
(d) The sensors melt.

5. When the author visits Vestmannaeyjar, what does he notice?
(a) Few survived the flu epidemic.
(b) No polar bears are left.
(c) Steam still rises from the ground.
(d) Most residents have moved out.

6. How tall does the erupting volcano in Heimaey grow to above sea level?
(a) One thousand two hundred feet.
(b) Three thousand feet.
(c) Seven hundred feet.
(d) One hundred feet.

7. After the eruptions of 1973 end, how many of Heimaey's evacuees return?
(a) Only a handful.
(b) All of them.
(c) Two-thirds.
(d) Half.

8. On January 23, 1973, the five thousand residents of Heimaey, the only populated island of Vestmannaeyjar, are threatened by what?
(a) Flu epidemic.
(b) War.
(c) Lava.
(d) Cracking ice shelf.

9. In gallons, how much water is pumped onto the lava flows of Heimaey each day?
(a) Thirteen hundred.
(b) Thirty million.
(c) Thirty thousand.
(d) Thirteen thousand.

10. When workers in Vestmannaeyjar hose down lava, why do they keep moving?
(a) To stay warm in the cold climate.
(b) Because the lava flow keeps shifting.
(c) To cool down other parts of the flow.
(d) To keep their boots from burning up.

11. Thorbjorn Sigurgeirsson is a native of which country?
(a) Sweden.
(b) Greenland.
(c) Finland.
(d) Iceland.

12. When the author walks the streets of Iceland's Heimaey years after the 1973 eruption, what does he see?
(a) A completely deserted ghost town.
(b) A town twice as large as before the eruption.
(c) Several new neighborhoods built atop cooled lava flows.
(d) Vacant houses that have never been repaired.

13. When the author recounts the moments before the 1973 eruption in Heimaey, he describes what?
(a) A violent shaking of the ground.
(b) An uncanny silence settling over the land.
(c) A loud, deep sound emanating from the volcano.
(d) Vibrations that are not unusual for the region.

14. With "City Flow" moving towards them in Heimaey, what do pumping crews do?
(a) Dismantle and move equipment to save it.
(b) Abandon efforts and run away.
(c) Board a ship and leave.
(d) Send an emergency request for more crews and equipment.

15. Sigurdur Jonsson is an Iceland resident who works on what?
(a) Fishing boats.
(b) Tourism.
(c) Pumping crews.
(d) Polar bear protection.

Short Answer Questions

1. In 1973, the eruptions in Heimaey begin on January 23 and continue vigorously before diminishing in strength through when?

2. Both Iceland and Hawaii are the world's most what?

3. The Hawaiian Research Association forms for what purpose?

4. During Thorbjorn Sigurgeirsson's test run to cool lava by the coastline, what happens?

5. Why do residents of Heimaey hose down oncoming lava?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 611 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample