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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Onion Spring, northeast of Moab, is
(a) Slightly salty but good
(b) Clear and drinkable
(c) Full of gold
(d) Poison with arsenic

2. What were Husk and Graham hoping for?
(a) Riches through uranium
(b) A new wife
(c) A nature experience
(d) A natural life for the boy

3. The clarity of the desert is illustrated in the desert's flora and fauna
(a) The lack of life
(b) The danger in the plant forms
(c) The uncrowded openness
(d) The heat and rock

4. Edward describes the colors of dawn in terms of
(a) Gray, brown and tinny
(b) Primary colors of life's art
(c) Rainbow of pastels
(d) Lavender, gold and rosey

5. Why did Abbey's friend from Cleveland think the desert would be a better place if it had water?
(a) Because more people could live there
(b) Because it would be more beautiful
(c) Because it would be greener
(d) Because it would be a better tourist attraction

Short Answer Questions

1. Salty water cannot sustain human life because

2. Abbey's complaint about a flashlight is that

3. Edward Abbey's description of a thunderstorm in the desert is

4. Some ancient pictographs in the rocks depict

5. Roy Scobie is known for being frugal with

Short Essay Questions

1. Discuss how different the daily life of an pre-Columbian Native American was, as compared to the daily life of an American now.

2. Explain why Abbey prefers not to use a flashlight in the dark.

3. For what does the author seem to be searching by taking this job?

4. Why was Turnbow Cabin built?

5. How does the author project his own sensibilities onto the doves that he hears calling? Why?

6. Abbey seems to jump back and forth in time in his book. Where in this chapter does that first become obvious?

7. How seriously is Abbey taking this government job?

8. What concession does Abbey make to man's ingenuity when it comes to life in the desert?

9. Why does Abbey's watch seem absurd to him?

10. It is interesting that Abbey wants to "own" all of the grandeur he sees around him. What does this feeling actually mean in this context?

(see the answer keys)

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