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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. What is the crew hoping for as they enter the Offshore Grounds?
(a) Stronger winds.
(b) Another whale ship.
(c) Another whale.
(d) Weaker winds.

2. After seventeen days in the boats, how far have the men sailed at the end of Chapter 7?
(a) Eight hundred and forty miles.
(b) One thousand one hundred miles.
(c) Two thousand and one hundred miles.
(d) Fourteen hundred and eighty miles.

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

4. What is the mood of the men on November 26?
(a) Depressed.
(b) Delirious.
(c) Angry.
(d) Confused.

5. Which one of the Galapagos Islands is the crew of the Essex on when they discover a leak in the ship?
(a) Culpepper Island.
(b) Hood Island.
(c) Tower Island.
(d) Barrington Island.

Short Answer Questions

1. How far away are the Marquesas from where the crew is in Chapter 6?

2. After stopping at the Cape Verde Islands in Chapter 3, how many spare whale boats does the Essex now have?

3. How far away in sailing distance from the Essex is the Offshore Ground in Chapter 7?

4. How do the men on Pollard's boat respond to the whale's attack?

5. How is the whale towed back to the ship after it is killed in Chapter 3?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the crew of the Essex deal with the second whale sighted in Chapter 3, and what is a Nantucket sleigh ride?

2. What setbacks are the three boats having as they approach the Society Islands at the end of Chapter 7?

3. How successful is the Essex off the coast of Peru?

4. What modifications are made to the whale boats in the beginning of Chapter 6?

5. How are the three whale boats divided and stocked for the trip at the end of Chapter 6?

6. How is the Essex described in Chapter 1?

7. How does Philbrick describe Pollard and his experience in Chapter 2?

8. How does the crew initially respond to the sinking of the Essex?

9. Why does the crew decide not to wait for another whale ship in the Offshore Ground?

10. What is used to determine the wages of sailors that participate in whaling trips, and how will Nickerson be paid?

(see the answer keys)

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