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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 feat did Waterman achieve in 1978?
(a) He walked from Washington, D. C. to San Francisco.
(b) He swam the English Channel in record time.
(c) He climbed Mt. Hunter's southeast spur on his own.
(d) He jumped out of a plane and parachuetted to the top of Mt. Hunter.

2. To whom did Chris send a postcard from Bullhead City?
(a) Westerberg.
(b) His sister.
(c) Jan Buress.
(d) His ex-girlfriend.

3. How long did Chris survive in that hostile environment?
(a) Two weeks.
(b) Six months.
(c) Almost a year.
(d) Sixteen weeks.

4. Where did Jim Gallien first encounter Chris?
(a) In the library at Fairbanks, Alaska.
(b) In a hardware store in Fairbanks, Alaska.
(c) In a cheap cafe on the outskirts of Fairbanks.
(d) Hitchhiking about four miles outside of Fairbanks, Alaska.

5. What unusual political action did Waterman take after his climb?
(a) He ran for President of the United States.
(b) He campaigned for LBJ.
(c) He got elected to the Fairbanks School Board.
(d) He applied to go to West Point.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the tone of Krakauer's book?

2. Still calling himself by another name, Chris met two drifters who befriend him. Who were they?

3. What human contact did Chris have as he hikeed West from Lake Mead?

4. How did Walt and Billie McCandless learn in Chapter 4 where their son might be?

5. What story does Krakauer tell that resembles Chris's in many ways?

Short Essay Questions

1. Tell how Krakauer disliked the assertion from so many people that Chris had foolishly thrown away his life.

2. Describe Walt McCandless as a professional and a businessman.

3. Discuss the inconsistency of Chris and his ideas about money.

4. What is a literary parallel between Chris and Ruess?

5. How did there happen to be an abandoned bus where Chris could find it?

6. Talk about the indication that Chris was planning for the Alaska trip to be his last adventure.

7. Describe Jim Gallien's difficulty contacting the Alaska state troopers.

8. How did Wayne Westerberg come to notify the police?

9. Describe Westerberg's comments to Krakauer two months after Chris died.

10. What is clear about the author's intentions in writing this book?

(see the answer keys)

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