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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the concept explored by the author in the section that pertains to boats and men?
(a) How men become unreasonable when it comes to their boats.
(b) The way men treat their boats like they treat their wives.
(c) The personification of a boat by a man and the identification of men with their boats.
(d) The way men choose their boats, their colors, and the length.

2. What are dry-balls?
(a) They are the biologists who study dead, preserved animals.
(b) They are the dried cotton balls brought to sea as part of the medicine kit.
(c) They are the dried coconut husks used by the local children to play ball.
(d) They are the medicines given to the expedition party by the locals.

3. What concept is consistent throughout the book, including the section dated March 24?
(a) The concept that biology should be approached with an eye towards how each individual part fits into the larger whole of nature.
(b) The concept that war is something that should be looked at from an objective point of view, rather than subjective.
(c) The concept that men should set aside their differences when they are travelling at sea.
(d) The concept that safety should be the first priority in any travel, rather than adventure and mischiefs.

4. What do Steinbeck and Ricketts encounter when they go for a walk in the dark?
(a) A little boy offering some pearls from the sea.
(b) A local hospital that treats voyagers for free.
(c) A little cross with a candle lighting it.
(d) A store that sells imported cigarettes.

5. What are the two types of biologists, as discussed by John Steinbeck and Ed Ricketts?
(a) Those who teach in the university and those who work for corporations.
(b) Those who study dead, preserved animals and those who study life in all its complexity.
(c) Those who have their own laboratory and those who rent a space for their laboratory works.
(d) Those who work at night and those who work during the day.

6. What do members of the party feel when they are the one manning the wheel?
(a) The team members feel happy and contented, and would like to remain at sea, when they are manning the wheel.
(b) The team members are excited, causing them to make wrong turns.
(c) The team members feel a but sad and melancholic listening to the sea breeze.
(d) The team members feel some pressure when they are manning the wheel, especially when Tony is watching.

7. Why does the author write the story?
(a) He wants to write about how traveling at sea can be done on a limited budget.
(b) He wants future travelers to have better information that can help them prepare for a similar expedition.
(c) He wants the world to know his good friend Ed Ricketts.
(d) He wants to be known as a man who liked to travel the seas.

8. What do Tiny and Sparky do while they are on watch?
(a) Tiny plays the guitar while Sparky sings.
(b) They take turns scratching each other's back.
(c) They play card games, making the boat sail the wrong way.
(d) They pay more attention to fishing than to the sailing of the ship.

9. What can be seen in Cabo San Lucas?
(a) An amusement park with rides and games, children and adults alike enjoy the park.
(b) A monastery with several nuns planting corn.
(c) A school for teenagers who want to be marines and navy in the future.
(d) A cannery along with a few houses on shore, and a rocky ridge that extends from the muntain into the ocean.

10. What are John Steinbeck's lamentations about?
(a) About how short a time he has to do all the things he wants to do.
(b) The soaring prices of gasoline and labor which he needs for his expedition.
(c) The lack of information available to him necessary to plan an expedition to the sea.
(d) The weather being unpredictable which makes a sea expedition particularly hard.

11. How does Tex see diesel engines?
(a) As expensive vessels not fit for sea travel.
(b) As abhorring inventions.
(c) As toys which can be experimentes on.
(d) As pure, logical, perfect mechanical entities.

12. Who is Raul?
(a) He is the local leader in La Paz, and he can determine whether the expedition party can land or not.
(b) He is the local priest in La Paz.
(c) He is a boy who offeres to take Steinbeck and Ricketts in his canoe to a place that was visible from the boat, where the two can collect some specimen.
(d) He sells chicken, pork and fish, and the expedition party bought their dinner from him.

13. According to John Steinbeck, what does a well-cared for and lovingly maintained boat indicate?
(a) It indicates that the owner is most likely an only child who was spoiled by his parents.
(b) It indicates that the owner is most likely a body-builder with lots of muscles.
(c) It indicates that the owner is a secretary with a very sharp memory.
(d) It indicates that the owner is most likely organized, efficient and in good shape.

14. What limitation does the expedition party have that is particular to their voyage?
(a) They can only sail in the morning because their light is not as powerful as those of the other voyages.
(b) They have only a small crew compared to other voyages with dozens of crew on board.
(c) They have a limited supply of food and drinks, and medicine, too.
(d) They only have six weeks to complete their entire voyage, on top of constraints presented by the tides.

15. On March 18, where does the expedition party end up going when a wind rises before they were able to anchor?
(a) Marina Bay.
(b) Pescadero Point.
(c) San Diego Bay.
(d) Magdalena Bay.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the expedition party do on their last night ashore when their boat is ready and loaded?

2. What does Tex find out about the skiff's outboard motor?

3. What does the expedition party observe about the town of San Lucas?

4. What is the author's description of Espiritu Santo Island?

5. What is the duration covered by the story?

(see the answer keys)

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