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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. What does the expedition party do on their last night ashore when their boat is ready and loaded?
(a) They pray the rosary.
(b) They take part in the celebration games.
(c) They sleep early in preparation for the journey.
(d) They drink wine all night and play cards.

2. What does the expedition party do after sorting the specimen they have collected?
(a) They sell the specimen to the locals in San Lucas.
(b) They go ashore and visit a local cantina in the town of San Lucas.
(c) They buy jewelry for their girlfriends and wives back at home.
(d) They pack all the specimen in ice bags and send it back to the US.

3. What does Steinbeck notice about the sense of time of the local people of Cabo San Lucas?
(a) It is reversed, sleeping during the day and working during the night.
(b) They seem to all walk faster, indicating that they have a faster sense of time.
(c) There is nothing different about their sense of time and that of the indigents'.
(d) It seems so different from their own.

4. How does Steinbeck compare navigation at sea to life?
(a) He likens trying to keep a course to walking a tight pole.
(b) He likens sea navigation to courting a girl.
(c) He likens sea navigation to cooking a gourmet course.
(d) He likens trying to keep a course to attempting to achieve an ideal.

5. What is the duration covered by the story?
(a) March 20 to April 11, 1940.
(b) April 11 to May 20, 1940.
(c) March 11 to April 20, 1940.
(d) April 20, 1940 to March 11, 1941.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the greater purpose for which the author wants to use his observations of the activities of the biological creatures?

2. What does the log entry of March 12 say?

3. What type of biologist is preferred by John Steinbeck?

4. Why does the expedition party set sail to La Paz?

5. Why are the particular dates chosen for an expedition?

Short Essay Questions

1. Briefly discuss Steinbeck and Ricketts' interaction with a boy named Raul and give possible reasons why they willingly went with him.

2. Steinbeck notices two men and a woman in Cabo San Lucas, paddling their canoe to the boat to do a little talking. He remarks that the indigenous people's sense of time is different from theirs. Describe the group that Steinbeck encounters, and what about their appearance invites such remarks from Steinbeck?

3. What is the Log of Sea Cortez and why was it created?

4. What are some examples of Steinbeck's personification of marine life?

5. Briefly explain Steinbeck's theory on "murdering" a boat.

6. Tiny and Sparky are described as almost two halves of one person. Make some speculations on their appearance and characters in general.

7. Explain Steinbeck's theory on man's struggle for dominance. What is his theory on how one group never stays in power for a very long time?

8. Explain Steinbeck's remark on the contrast between Tiny's reaction to the death of the sea turtle and that of a scientist's.

9. Describe Tex and make some assumptions on the way he looks.

10. Describe the Sea-Cow and how did it get its name? How does the expedition party relate to it? Does the expedition party treat the Sea-Cow fairly?

(see the answer keys)

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