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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 was the second catch of the fishing expedition for Taki?

2. What reason was Gerald given for his mother wanting a bamboo house?

3. What was one of the unusual things Gerald knew about the water-spider?

4. Which family member bought a book about nature for Gerald as a gift?

5. What did Larry reveal about Sven after Sven had left the house?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Leslie react to settling into their new home? What did he set about to do while in Corfu? How did his mother react to this plan?

2. What did Larry offer to teach Gerald about caring for Sally? What important piece of information did Larry not know that caused him trouble? What happened?

3. What did Gerald do with the crab he and Roger discovered on one of their walks? What did Gerald find fascinating about the crab that led him to further exploration?

4. What was the set pattern Theo and Gerald had established for their excursions? What was the first thing they did when settling into a new spot?

5. Who is the narrator of the story? What do we learn about him in the opening "Conversations?" Where is his home?

6. What kinds of spiders did Gerald find on the island? What did he witness one day while observing one of the spiders he had caught?

7. What was "catching cuttlefish with love?" How did it work? What was Gerald's response to this interesting fishing style?

8. What creature did Gerald discover on an afternoon trek to the lake alone? Why was this creature especially important to Gerald? What was unique about this creature?

9. Who was Roger? How did Gerald meet Roger? What did Gerald and Roger do together on the island?

10. Where did Taki take Gerald to catch fish? What unusual method did Taki use to catch fish? What strange fish did Taki catch that fascinated Gerald? What did Gerald learn about the fish Taki caught?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Larry is the oldest child in the family, and Gerald's oldest brother. Write a character sketch for Larry. Include his role in the family, his various interests, and his most noticeable personality traits. Also draw your own conclusions about his behavior, his feelings about his family, and specifically his feelings for Gerald.

Essay Topic 2

Throughout the memoir, Gerald Durrell uses the five senses to enhance his detailed descriptions of life on Corfu. Discuss the use of this device as a means of description in the memoir. Include examples of some of the senses that Gerald depends on in his life in nature.

Essay Topic 3

Gerald gives detailed descriptions of two customs of the village in which he lives. One is the wedding ceremony, and another childbirth. Describe both of these customs, and how Gerald ends up witnessing them both in his first months on the island.

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