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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What do scholars speculate might have caused the whale to attack the Essex?
(a) The yelling of the men while attempting to kill another whale.
(b) The boat's attack on other whales that are observed by the large whale.
(c) The clicking sound that Chase makes while repairing his boat.
(d) The whale is territorial and protecting its waters.

2. When did English settlers begin arriving in Nantucket?
(a) 1695.
(b) 1659.
(c) 1653.
(d) 1635.

3. How many men are in the small boat when it is first mentioned in the preface?
(a) Fifteen.
(b) Five.
(c) Eight.
(d) Two.

4. What happens when Chase's boat attempts to approach a whale on November 16?
(a) The whale emerges underneath the boat.
(b) The whale outruns the boat.
(c) The whale drags the boat for several miles.
(d) The whale is wounded, but not killed.

5. What is the name given to the event of a harpooned whale dragging a boat at high speeds?
(a) Nantucket sleigh ride.
(b) Nantucket pull through.
(c) Nantucket drag along.
(d) Nantucket speeder.

6. Which weapon does Pollard choose to keep for himself as Chapter 6 ends?
(a) Pistol.
(b) Shotgun.
(c) Knife.
(d) Musket.

7. What does the Aurora bring for the crew of the Essex?
(a) Letters from home.
(b) Sailors and boats.
(c) More weapons.
(d) More food.

8. How long is the huge whale that appears off the port bow in Chapter 5?
(a) Sixty -five feet long.
(b) Ninety- five feet long.
(c) Eighty- five feet long.
(d) Seventy- five feet long.

9. As described in the Preface, in which ocean are the whales hunted?
(a) Atlantic.
(b) Indian.
(c) Arctic.
(d) Pacific.

10. If the Essex returns with sufficient product, how much money is Thomas Nickerson expecting to make from the trip?
(a) Two hundred dollars.
(b) One hundred dollars.
(c) Two hundred and fifty dollars.
(d) One hundred and fifty dollars.

11. How long does the average hunt for a sperm whale take?
(a) One to two months.
(b) One to two years.
(c) Six months to a year.
(d) Two to three years.

12. How far have the men rescued by the Dauphin been sailing at the end of the Preface?
(a) Fifty- five hundred nautical miles.
(b) Twenty- five hundred nautical miles.
(c) Thirty- five hundred nautical miles.
(d) Forty- five hundred nautical miles.

13. What do Pollard and Daniel Russell, the captain of the Aurora, discuss in Chapter 4?
(a) The discovery of other whaling boats off the coast.
(b) The remaining time of the Essex's trip.
(c) The discovery of a new whaling ground.
(d) The remaining time of the Aurora's trip.

14. As the frustrations grow on the Essex, what complaint do the men bring to Pollard at the end of Chapter 3?
(a) Smaller food portions.
(b) More chores on the ship.
(c) Less sleep time.
(d) Unfair treatment by the first and second mate.

15. How much water is each man given per day as the crew attempts to make it to land in Chapter 7?
(a) Three-quarters of a pint.
(b) A half pint.
(c) A pint.
(d) A quarter pint.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the mood of the men on November 26?

2. Compared to the other seventy Nantucket whale ships, how is the Essex considered?

3. How is Pollard informed to set sail?

4. What surprises Nickerson about Chase while they are on the sea?

5. How many miles does it take the crew to set and trim the sails of the Essex?

(see the answer keys)

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