View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. If there was five seconds between lightning and thunder, how far away would the storm be?

2. How close could the author get to the deer in "Deer in the Headlights"?

3. When did Stanley Spencer leave the painting Swan Upping at Cookham unfinished in his bedroom?

4. What date did the author observe swan upping?

5. How fast was the author driving in "Storm"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did the author search for in a disused chalk quarry?

2. Who was Maxwell Knight?

3. How does the author describe the painting Swan Upping at Cookham?

4. What did upping swans used to include?

5. How were elephant seals involved in a project studying climate change in West Antarctica?

6. When Macdonald and her brother were children, how did they observe blue tits?

7. What did the author and her mother see and hear in "Berries" while running errands?

8. What does Macdonald say about allergies?

9. When was the British Trust for Ornithology established, and what was its purpose?

10. What is swan upping?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Swifts were birds that could fly for months at a time. Why did the author compare swifts to aliens? When would swifts rise and fly high in the sky? Why were these called vesper flights? What was the purpose of vesper flights?

Essay Topic 2

Macdonald used berries for decorating and felt guilty. Why did the author feel guilty for using berries to decorate? Why were berries a crucial source of food for birds? What relationship is there between birds, berries, and the growth of plants?

Essay Topic 3

Nature reserves are established to preserve habitats and wildlife. What did Macdonald write about visiting nature reserves? Why did she call them living museums? What benefits and disadvantages were there in establishing and maintaining nature reserves?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 898 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample