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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. To make it easier to maneuver the rubber raft, Abbey
(a) Ties his boat to Newcomb's
(b) Gets hold of a second paddle
(c) Leans back against the stern seats
(d) Keeps one hand outside the boat

2. Abbey's exploration of the Maze with Bob Waterman is
(a) Dangerous
(b) Impulsive
(c) Ironic
(d) Haphazard

3. When Abbey finally confronts Moon-Eye, he is
(a) Gentle and kind to the horse
(b) In a hurry to get him in a rope
(c) Angry and frustrated
(d) Overly friendly and suspicious

4. The desert winds of May have
(a) Dried the river to a stream
(b) Burned the green things to saffron and auburn
(c) Brought huge thunderclouds
(d) Cleaned out the flowers and debris

5. Moon-Eye rejected humans when he was subjected to
(a) Having to go all day without water
(b) Being ridden too long
(c) Human food
(d) A violent beating

Short Answer Questions

1. When Abbey gets a call to help with a search, he assumes

2. Under Abbey's ramada on a sunny day the temperature of 110 degrees is

3. Abbey's campsite is

4. On the beach for the evening, the most rewarding thing seems to be

5. Major John Wesley Powell was the first to

Short Essay Questions

1. Try to explain Abbey's rambling about naming things.

2. Do you think Edward Abbey is a fanatic? Is his fear of a future dictatorial regime unfounded?

3. The poet to whom Abbey refers in this chapter when he says, "It was all foreseen a half century ago," is Robinson Jeffers, and his poem is entitled "Broken Balance." Why does Abbey not provide the reader with that information, when he has so adamantly laid out his reasoning and feelings for us in the previous paragraphs?

4. Abbey mentions thinking the unthinkable as he drives through the desert past the Arches headquarters. To what is he referring?

5. Abbey does not speak highly of the man-made lakes on the Colorado. Why?

6. What is the difference between Abbey's heat waves and a mirage?

7. What does Abbey say, indirectly, about change?

8. What are a few good words that would describe Abbey's impression of the desert at this time of year, and at noon? Is there any other place, time, state of mind or being, to which this same set of words also applies?

9. If Abbey is somewhat indifferent to the death of a fellow human being, why would that be true?

10. Why does Edward Abbey seemingly push the limits of safety by living in isolation and putting himself in dangerous situations?

(see the answer keys)

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