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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. When the climbing team woke up in the Sherpa hut at the beginning of Messner's book, what season was it?

2. In the Kanchung chapter as Messner and Bulle returned to Europe, how did Messner characterize the way Bulle was feeling?

3. Halfway through Messner's lecture tour in the Kanchung chapter, who slipped the "Peking Review" into Messner's hand?

4. To whom does Messner attribute the quote that begins his book?

5. Who was the first person to ever want to scale Mount Everest alone?

Short Essay Questions

1. According to Messner in the Mount Everest-Fairytale and Reality chapter, why did no one understand the local people better than the leader of the second British expedition to Mount Everest in 1922?

2. When the climbing team woke up in the Sherpa hut in the early pages of the Mount Everest-Fairytale and Reality chapter, why was the team headed to Syangpoche?

3. Describe what the oxygen apparatus of the 1920's looked like.

4. According to Messner in the Mount Everest-Fairytale and Reality chapter, what were the primary motives of the Himalayan mountaineer?

5. According to Messner in the Mount Everest-Fairytale and Reality chapter, why was each hour of each day so precious to the second British expedition to Mount Everest?

6. How did Captain Finch originally test his bold plan back in England?

7. What unusual item was a standard item placed in the rooms by the hotel in Syangpoche in the early pages of the Mount Everest-Fairytale and Reality chapter?

8. As Bulle returned to his "real" life in the Kanchung chapter, he threw himself into his job. What was Bulle's primary motivation for taking up his work with such enthusiasm?

9. What did the British recognize as too difficult a route in the 1920s and 1930s that is still not climbed to this day?

10. What was the bold plan for the second expedition to Everest that Captain Finch came up with?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine how Nena Holguin changed as Messner's book unfolded. Be sure to include your assessment of Nena when she first met Reinhold Messner, when she agreed to accompany him to Tibet, while she was waiting at the base camp for Messner to return, and when the book ended.

Essay Topic 2

The Chinese government used many different tactics to not only take over but also to rule Tibet and keep the Tibetan people in line.

a. Identify three tactics used by the Chinese government to rule Tibet and keep the people in line.

b. For each tactic identified, explain why the government used this method of control.

c. Compare these tactics in terms of their operational style, level of involvement, and operational success or failure.

Essay Topic 3

One of the main themes in this book involved conquering fear.

a. Identify three individuals that had to overcome their fears.

b. What were each of these individuals afraid of, and was there any true basis for their fears?

c. What was the outcome for these individuals? Were they successful in overcoming their fears?

(see the answer keys)

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