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

Short Answer Questions

1. What is served at tea time which shocks Jean?

2. Besides the well, what has Jean caused to be built?

3. Why do townspeople hope that Jean will put in a shoe manufacturing business?

4. Who finds Curtis and stays with him until help comes?

5. When does Harman take Jean to Midhurst to see where he lives?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Jean fly to Australia?

2. How does Jean find Midhurst where Joe lives and works?

3. What is the bore and what use do the people make of it?

4. What is going on at Midhurst when news arrives about Don Curtis' disappearance?

5. Learning in Alice Springs that Joe is all right and able to work, why does Jean not just return to England?

6. After confiding with the Sawyers her real reason for looking up Joe Harman, what is Jean's denial?

7. Describe the outback custom Jean learns that shows her determination to fit in and settle there.

8. What consideration do both Jean and Joe have about each other?

9. Briefly describe Jean's shoe making project.

10. In Daly Waters, describe what Jean sees for the first time.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about adjusting to difficult situations. Mention how Jean and the women had to adjust to being prisoners and later working in the rice paddies. Write about how Jean adjusted to Willstown and how the town adjusted to her. Conclude with the idea that at any given time, people may have to adjust to difficult situations. Identify appropriate action and behavior in a specific bad situation like being in a strange place and running out of money. Detail how to best deal with such a circumstance.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay on the importance of gathering facts and making plans before attempting a project. Use Jean Paget and Mr. Strachan in your essay as examples. Do not forget to mention the planning that went into his trip to Australia. Make this essay a comment on the potential pitfalls of impulsive action. Some examples you might want to use include people who go out in boats without flotation devices, hikers who go out without water and first aid supplies, etc.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay about vocabulary differences in English speaking countries. Use Australian words such as bore, cattle station, walkabout, and others in the novel to illustrate the point that language changes from culture to culture. Note in your essay that English as the second language of the world is constantly being altered by the introduction of usage influenced by other languages. End with your opinion of what is good or bad about different meanings for the same words in other countries.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 750 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample