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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. When Krakauer was at the mountain he came to climb, what enhanced his emotions?
(a) The clean air which gave him an oxygen high.
(b) The beauty of the snowy terrain and clear sky was intensified for him by his solitude.
(c) The cheers of the people who came to see him off.
(d) Two sturdy aluminum curtain rods with him, lashed in a cross shape, to prevent him from falling into a crevasse.

2. Why does Krakauer relate his own experiences in Chapter 14?
(a) To show his affinity with Chris.
(b) To see if he is any different now as a mature man.
(c) To show how he was so much better than Chris.
(d) To prove that he had no right to write about Chris.

3. What does Carine recall that Chris loved so much?
(a) Her dog, Buck.
(b) The Gianni guitar.
(c) His yellow Datsun.
(d) Reading Moby Dick.

4. What information does Gallien provide the police?
(a) That Alex had mentioned a friend named Ron in California.
(b) That the young man had called himself Alex and had come from South Dakota.
(c) That Alex's real name was Chris McCandless.
(d) That Alex was coughing bad when he dropped him off.

5. What is significant about the cloth belt Krakauer founds in the bus?
(a) He seemd to have made it to tie up his paperback books.
(b) Chris had made it to keep himself busy.
(c) Chris probably didn't want to ruin the leather belt he had made at Ron Franz's house.
(d) It must have been made when Chris got too thin for his jeans.

6. Who gave Krakauer dinner and a place to sleep in Petersberg?
(a) A kind woman named Kai Sandburn.
(b) A drifter named Jan Buress.
(c) The captain of a tuna fishing boat.
(d) A policeman offered him a jail cell.

7. What trait did sports reveal in Chris?
(a) He wanted other people to win.
(b) He was not interested in competition.
(c) He was lazy about training.
(d) He did not take defeat well.

8. Racing against a storm, Krakauer reaches the summit of the Thumb. How does he describe it?
(a) He describes it as the coldest place on earth.
(b) He describes the summit as malevolent and surreal.
(c) He describes it as a big disappointment.
(d) He describes it as breathtakingly beautiful.

9. What is significant about August 5?
(a) It was Chris's birthday.
(b) It was Chris's 100th day in the wilderness.
(c) It was the day he killed the caribou.
(d) It was the day the moose hunters found his body.

10. What does Krakauer think actually killed Chris?
(a) Poisonous leaves he was reduced to eating.
(b) The wild potato seeds he was eating.
(c) Choking on rabbit bones.
(d) Tainted canned goods he found in the bus.

11. August 12, Chris left the bus to forage for berries. What did the note he left on the door say?
(a) It was a desperate plea for assistance signed with his real name.
(b) "Gone fishing, be back in one hour."
(c) "If I do not return, look for me north of the bus."
(d) "There is stew on the stove, go in and help yourself."

12. What is prominently displayed in Carine McCandless's home?
(a) A painting she did of her brother, Chris.
(b) All of Chris's track trophies.
(c) A scrapbook of news clippings about Chris.
(d) Two photographs of her brother, Chris.

13. What did Krakauer do similar to what Chris did when he needed to go to the village of Petersberg?
(a) He sent postcards to friends.
(b) He abandoned his car.
(c) He bought a big bag of rice.
(d) He burned his money.

14. What evidence does Krakauer find that suggests Chris was ready to re-enter society?
(a) Chris's journal indicated that he was beginning to doubt Thoreau.
(b) Doctor Zhivago, a book Chris was reading, includes that genuine happiness must be shared with one's fellow human beings and Chris had made a note beside that passage.
(c) Chris had written down the names and addresses of everyone who had helped him so he could visit them again.
(d) The graffiti Chris drew on the bus indicated he wanted to see people again.

15. What family outings did the McCandless family mention to Krakauer?
(a) Going to the Grand Canyon every year.
(b) A beach house in Cape Cod.
(c) Camping trips with an Airstream Trailer.
(d) A yearly trip to Texas.

Short Answer Questions

1. In light of his own experiences, what does Krakauer think of Chris's tactics?

2. What did Billie leave in the bus?

3. What was the skeleton in Walt's closet that stressed the whole family, Chris in particular?

4. What ambitions did Jon Krakauer's father have for all of his children?

5. What happened 10 months after Chris's death?

(see the answer keys)

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