View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How long do Joe and Simon expect to be gone on their climb of Siula Grande?
(a) Two Days.
(b) One week.
(c) 24 hours.
(d) Five Days.

2. How does Joe try to gauge their height on the mountain?
(a) By checking his wristwatch altimiter.
(b) By checking his GPS.
(c) By checking the map.
(d) By looking at nearby peaks.

3. How far does Simon lower Joe each time before he descends himself?
(a) Approximately 300 feet.
(b) Approximately 300 meters.
(c) Approximately 300 abseils.
(d) Approximately 150 feet.

4. What are Joe Simpson and Ian Whittaker doing when the ground breaks out from underneath them?
(a) Getting ready to sleep.
(b) Abseiling.
(c) Belaying.
(d) Digging a snow hole.

5. On their first night on Siula Grande, what do Joe and Simon sleep in?
(a) A pigsty.
(b) A natural cave.
(c) A man-made cave.
(d) A tent.

Short Answer Questions

1. On what route do two climbers witness the deaths of two other climbers?

2. What do the climbers run out of in the chapter "On the Edge"?

3. What does Joe try to use to climb up the rope?

4. As Simon lowers Joe down the mountain, how is Joe facing?

5. What is the name of the rock that Joe and Ian climb?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Simon's feelings at the end of "The Final Choice".

2. In "Storm at the Summit", how does Joe get a bloody lip and a cracked tooth?

3. Explain how Joe feels for the two days immediately prior to setting out for Siula Grande.

4. Toward the end of "On the Edge", Joe awakens in the snow hole with what sensation?

5. At the beginning of "Tempting Fate", what does Joe say about his fingers, and how does he deal with them?

6. After Joe tells Simon that he has broken his leg, he describes the pitiful look that Simon gives him as, 'a distance given to a wounded animal which could not be helped' (p74). From Simon's point of view, why does he give him this look?

7. After breaking his leg, why doesn't Joe ask Simon for help?

8. What worries Joe and Simon the most about the final part of the route to the summit?

9. Compare or contrast the influence of the incident on The Bonatti Pillar on the climbing careers of Joe Simpson and Ian Whittaker.

10. Why does Simon cut the rope?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,142 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample