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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. When Joe follows Simon, he is careful to do what?
(a) Avoid Simon's footsteps entirely.
(b) Keep Richard informed of their progress.
(c) Follow Simon's footsteps exactly.
(d) Not lose sight of Simon.

2. How are Joe and Ian rescued?
(a) By Simon.
(b) By rescue helicopter.
(c) By donkey.
(d) By Japanese climbers.

3. What is verglas?
(a) Vertical ice.
(b) A thin glaze of glass-like ice covering the rock.
(c) Vertical scree.
(d) A type of eye lens used to help climbers with vertigo.

4. A hundredweight of icicles falls on Joe's head. How much is this?
(a) 100 grams.
(b) About 100 icicles.
(c) 100 kilograms.
(d) 100 pounds.

5. At one of the lowering changeovers, Simon smiles at Joe, and Joe realizes that their partnership...
(a) Is just as effective and had turned from climbing to rescue.
(b) Is accident-prone.
(c) Had been a bad idea.
(d) Has gone from bad to worse.

6. What collapses under Simon's feet?
(a) A snow ridge.
(b) An ice bridge.
(c) A crevice.
(d) The summit.

7. What does Joe mean by a "tortured" cornice?
(a) Abused.
(b) Twisted and distorted.
(c) Ugly.
(d) Pummeled by snow and wind.

8. What is a Karrimat?
(a) A belay seat.
(b) A karabiner mat.
(c) A sleeping bag.
(d) A sleeping mat.

9. What is the elevation of Siula Grande?
(a) 29,000 feet.
(b) 4,500 feet.
(c) 21,000 metres.
(d) 21,000 feet.

10. Simon tells Joe that he is knackered. What does this mean?
(a) He is dumbfounded.
(b) He is trying to shake off what he just saw.
(c) He is very tired.
(d) He is cinched up in his knap-sack.

11. While Simon is lowering Joe, Joe swears a lot, mostly at...
(a) Simon.
(b) The snow.
(c) The cold.
(d) His crampons.

12. Who is the narrator when italic print is used in the book?
(a) Richard.
(b) The editor.
(c) Joe.
(d) Simon.

13. When Joe and Simon move together, Joe moves only when...
(a) The rope moves.
(b) Simon gives him the signal.
(c) The whiteout is over.
(d) He can see Simon.

14. When thinking about being left on the mountain, Joe feels himself "teetering on the edge of..."
(a) Panic.
(b) A crevasse.
(c) Lunacy.
(d) A cliff.

15. What is the first thing Simon says to Joe after Joe tells him about the broken leg?
(a) 'Are you okay?'
(b) 'I'll abseil down to you.'
(c) 'What happened?'
(d) 'Are you sure it's broken?'

Short Answer Questions

1. What is spindrift?

2. What is the first thing that Simon says to Joe in the chapter "Tempting Fate"?

3. When Joe first looks at his knee after his fall, how does he describe it?

4. On what mountain range do two climbers witness the deaths of two other climbers?

5. At the beginning of the chapter "On the Edge", on which side of Siula Grande are Joe and Simon descending?

(see the answer keys)

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