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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Where did Chris intend to hike?
(a) Where no one had ever gone before.
(b) Along the Alaskan Pipeline.
(c) The Stampede Trail, a faint track in the wilderness well off the beaten path.
(d) Southwestward into Canada.

2. What is The Slabs?
(a) An old U. S. Calvary outpost.
(b) A flat, rocky area in the Arizona desert.
(c) A settlement of people who erect their tents on concrete slabs.
(d) An abandoned military base where drifters come during the winter.

3. Where did Alex stay outside of Salton City?
(a) Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.
(b) Palm Springs.
(c) Joshua Tree National Park.
(d) Right at Oh-My-God Hot Springs.

4. What problem did the authorities have after removing Chris's body?
(a) Finding enough tissue to autopsy.
(b) Identifying him.
(c) Getting the body to Fairbanks.
(d) Keeping the body frozen.

5. When Chris corresponded with his sister, what did he confide to her?
(a) That he would surprise them all and come home.
(b) That he planned to lull his parents into a false sense of security then cut them out of his life abruptly and decisively.
(c) That he was tired of being on the run all the time.
(d) That he would see her by Christmas time.

6. What did Chris tell Gallien his plans were?
(a) To hike as far north as he could go.
(b) To write a book like Thoreau.
(c) To hike from Mt. McKinley to the Gulf of Mexico.
(d) To walk into the wilderness near Denali National Park to live off the land for several months.

7. What item of clothing did Chris seem to abhor?
(a) Neckties.
(b) Uniforms.
(c) Socks.
(d) Jeans.

8. What did Westerberg give Chris?
(a) A ride to Alaska.
(b) A pair of rubber boots.
(c) A job on his combine crew.
(d) A meal and a room for the night.

9. What is Davis Gulch?
(a) A watery oasis in the midst of southern Utah.
(b) An extension of the Grand Canyon.
(c) A valley that has only one way in and out.
(d) A cattle passage through western Utah.

10. What did Chris do with the $24,000 he had left over from his inheritance?
(a) He gave it to UNICEF.
(b) He donated it to OXFAM.
(c) He gave it to the Salvation Army.
(d) He gave it to his sister.

11. Near what famous landmark did Chris McCandless die?
(a) Old Faithful.
(b) Mt. McKinley.
(c) Mt. St. Helens.
(d) Mt. Rushmore.

12. Why does Krakauer devote Chapter 9 to the story of Everett Ruess?
(a) Krakauer sees great similarities between Ruess and Chris.
(b) Krakauer wants to demonstrate mental illness in Ruess.
(c) Karkauer wants to expand the scope of his thesis.
(d) Krakauer wants to show how different Ruess is from Chris.

13. What does Krakauer suggest shows that Chris was not mentally ill?
(a) He wrote lucidly in his journal.
(b) He had studied up on edible plants in America.
(c) He had decided this would be his last adventure.
(d) Chris had no illusion that someone would come to save him.

14. Where did Chris meet Wayne Westerberg?
(a) In Fairbanks, Alaska.
(b) In Carthage, South Dakota.
(c) On the Colorado River.
(d) In Los Angeles.

15. What indicates that Chris intended his Alaska trip to be his final great adventure?
(a) Before leaving, Alex promised Westerberg he would return in time for the fall harvest.
(b) He talked about returning to take care of Ron Franz.
(c) He had lost a great deal of weight and looked ill.
(d) He said he was sure this trip would tire him out completely.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where did Chris's canoe trip eventually take him after going as far as he could down the Colorado River?

2. What had Chris's mother and father offered to do after he graduated from college?

3. What parallel does Krakauer draw between Chris and Carl McCunn?

4. What symbol is ironic on the leather belt?

5. How did Chris introduce himself to Gallien?

(see the answer keys)

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