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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Section 1: "Part One: Toxins in the Permafrost and Heat Rising All Around" .

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In the opening anecdote of the book, what escapes from the melting permafrost?
(a) Anthrax.
(b) SARS-CoV-2.
(c) Mercury.
(d) Nuclear waste.

2. According to Wilkerson's explanation on page 9, why did Democrats hesitate to impeach Trump?
(a) Fear of retribution from Trump himself.
(b) Fear of backlash from his base.
(c) Many had investments in Trump businesses.
(d) The evidence was unclear.

3. In Wilkerson's anecdote about the house inspector, how does he "see past the plaster" (17)?
(a) By reading the blueprints.
(b) By using an infrared camera.
(c) By using his professional experience.
(d) By using an x-ray machine.

4. In the page 15 sentence "An old house is its own kind of devotional, a dowager aunt with a story to be coaxed out of her," the reference to a dowager aunt is an example of what literary technique?
(a) Synechdoche.
(b) Allusion.
(c) Simile.
(d) Metaphor.

5. Besides the caste systems in India and the United States, which other caste system does Wilkerson say that she will focus on?
(a) The Nigerian Osu System.
(b) Apartheid South Africa.
(c) Yuan China.
(d) Nazi Germany.

Short Answer Questions

1. In the page 15 sentence "An old house is its own kind of devotional, a dowager aunt with a story to be coaxed out of her," the idea that the house has a story to tell is an example of what literary technique?

2. According to Wilkerson, who is at the top of the "ladder of humanity" created by colonists in North America?

3. In "The Vitals of History," what does Wilkerson compare an honest and rigorous study of history to?

4. On page 6, Wilkerson calls a financial crisis "cataclysmic." What kind of crisis was it?

5. According to Wilkerson, what serves as a signal of rank within the American caste system?

(see the answer key)

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