View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Maclean consider a natural reaction near the end of a fire story?
(a) To want to learn more about firefighting.
(b) To become personally involved in finding a cause for the fire.
(c) To become a distant and detached spectator.
(d) To want the Forest Service to take responsibilty.

2. How did Maclean compare the fire at the top of the ridge to a snake?
(a) The fire slithered though the rocks using its tongue to cut through obstructions.
(b) The fire shed itself onto grasses and trees like a snake shedding its skin.
(c) The fire ran through the grass serpentine toward the top of the ridge.
(d) The fire slowly made its way along the ground lighting everything in its path.

3. Who was Arthur P. Brackebush?
(a) A former foreman for the Smokejumpers.
(b) A former student of Gisborne's.
(c) A former pilot of a Smokejumper's plane.
(d) A former Forest Service ranger.

4. What well-known magazine had a lead article entitled "Smokejumpers Suffer Ordeal by Fire?"
(a) Life.
(b) Look.
(c) Time.
(d) National Geographic.

5. What effect did Dodge's escape fire have on the Mann Gulch fire, according to Maclean?
(a) The escape fire would have stopped the Mann Gulch fire.
(b) The escape fire leaves the Mann Gulch fire a scientific impossibility.
(c) The escape fire made the Mann Gulch fire a blow up.
(d) The escape fire leaves the Mann Gulch fire a mystery.

6. What words are in the Common Book of Prayer that beg to not die of sudden death?
(a) "Good Lord, be my shepherd."
(b) "Good Lord, deliver us."
(c) "Good Lord, help us."
(d) "Good Lord, watch over us."

7. To what does a woodsman look for both the questions and their answers?
(a) The sky.
(b) The grasses.
(c) The trees.
(d) The ground.

8. Who was Henry Thol, Sr.?
(a) Father of one of the dead Smokejumpers.
(b) A Smokejumper trainer.
(c) The senator form Montana.
(d) The Forest Service official responsible for public relations.

9. How did Maclean explain the change in the world after compassionately studying the fire at Mann Gulch?
(a) Moving from a "hearing world" to a "feeling world" by learning from the past.
(b) Moving from a "seeing world" to a "hearing world" by understanding the terrifying sounds of fire.
(c) Moving from a "feeling world" to a "comprehending world" for the loss of the Smokejumpers.
(d) Moving from a "seeing world" to a "feeling world" for the pain of others.

10. What common portrayal of death did Maclean believe did not occur for the Smokejumpers?
(a) To see the people waiting for them in Heaven.
(b) To see the people they love.
(c) To see their whole lives in review.
(d) To see the future.

11. Where did Maclean and his party land their boat to begin their trip to Mann Gulch?
(a) At the base of Fields Gulch.
(b) At the foot of the Gates of the Mountain.
(c) At the entrance to Merriweather Canyon.
(d) At the mouth of Rescue Gulch.

12. What observation did Jansson and the doctor at the scene make about the final steps of the men who died on the hill?
(a) They fell, then rose and took a few steps, then fell again.
(b) They fell and got up many times before dying.
(c) They fell and were instantly devoured by the fire.
(d) They were dead before they fell to the ground.

13. Who was Hal Samsel?
(a) The spotter on the plane that dropped the Smokejumpers into the gulch.
(b) The Loft foreman and son of a Forest Ranger.
(c) The pilot who dropped the Smokejumpers into Mann Gulch.
(d) The Forest Ranger responsible for guided tours of the gulch.

14. At the end of his life, what did Maclean consider the ultimate drive of the human spirit?
(a) To continue doing what we last hoped to do on earth.
(b) To escape death at any cost.
(c) To cry out for compassion.
(d) To die in peace.

15. When Sallee and Rumsey reached Hellman's cross, what did they both say to Laird and Maclean?
(a) Someone had moved the markers of some of the men.
(b) They wanted to rest before seeing Mann Gulch.
(c) They did not want to see Mann Gulch.
(d) Hellman's cross was not in the correct place.

Short Answer Questions

1. What sculptor's piece stands at the University of Chicago commemorating the Atomic Age?

2. What did Maclean believe the atomic mushroom to be a symbol of in the 20th century?

3. What did Laird and Maclean realize early in their investigation of the Mann Gulch fire?

4. After Smokejumpers are dropped on a fire, what time do they say the fire will be put out?

5. Where did Maclean finally locate Walter Rumsey?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 862 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample