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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Part II, Section 5 - Part III, Section 2.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. The author states in Part II, Section 2, "In China, which feeds more than 20 percent of the world's population off 7 percent of the world's arable land, desertification is already causing direct annual losses of" how much (89)?
(a) $65 billion.
(b) $75 billion.
(c) $25 billion.
(d) $45 billion.

2. Who wrote Moby Dick?
(a) Ian Hacking.
(b) Ernest Gellner.
(c) Stanislaw Lem.
(d) Herman Melville.

3. On what date did a flood without precedent in Mumbai's recorded history descend on the city, dumping 94.4 cm. of rain in 14 hours on the northern suburbs?
(a) July 26, 2005.
(b) November 3, 2015.
(c) June 4, 2011.
(d) September 6, 2014.

4. When was The Circle of Reason published?
(a) 1989.
(b) 1995.
(c) 1986.
(d) 2002.

5. What John Sayles's film is praised by the author in Part I, Section 17?
(a) Matewan.
(b) Lone Star.
(c) Passion Fish.
(d) The Brother from Another Planet.

Short Answer Questions

1. The 1971 Bhola Cyclone is thought to have killed how many people?

2. What author did Lionel Trilling famously dismiss as one who thought "like a social function, not a novelist" (79-80)?

3. Who wrote The Circle of Reason?

4. How many people were injured by the cyclone that the author encountered while in Delhi?

5. When did Hurricane Sandy hit New York?

(see the answer key)

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