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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 important work does Walt McCandless do?
(a) Nuclear physicist.
(b) Advanced radar technology.
(c) Biochemist.
(d) CIA undercover.

2. When Krakauer reached an impassable place on the mountain, what did he do?
(a) He radioed for help.
(b) He started traveling horizontally on the mountain.
(c) He sat down and cried.
(d) There was nothing to do but descend.

3. What is so poignant about the final photograph Chris took of himself holding his good-bye note?
(a) He doesn't realize that he is holding the note upside down.
(b) His emaciated frame contrasts with the smile on his face.
(c) The end of his good-bye note says he will see everyone in a month.
(d) It is blurry because he was too weak to hold the camera steady.

4. What was in the McCandless house that speaks to the feelings of Walt and Billie McCandless toward Chris?
(a) A photo memorial to Chris on the dining room table.
(b) No photos of Chris in the house.
(c) All of Chris's track trophies lined up on the mantle.
(d) Clippings of newspaper articles and magazine stories about Chris.

5. How did Chris travel the 1,000 miles from Laird, Alaska, to Fairbanks?
(a) Hitchhiking, he got a series of rides.
(b) A truck driver named Gaylord Stuckey picked him up.
(c) Jim Gallien gave him a lift.
(d) He walked most of the way.

Short Answer Questions

1. What connection did Jim Gallien make when he read the article about Chris's death?

2. What happened to Billie in July of 1992?

3. Chris's parents had moved, but his step brother was contacted. After he positively identified Chris, what did he do?

4. What did Billie realize as she get to the bus?

5. How was Westerberg able to help the police?

Short Essay Questions

1. Carine knew that Chris was leaving but she didn't know where he was going. Why?

2. What discovery about himself did Krakauer make after conquering Devil's Thumb?

3. What items did Billie and Walt McCandless leave behind in the bus?

4. To show his kindred spirit with Chris, what does Krakauer write about in Chapter 14?

5. Explain Jim Gillien's difficulty in contacting the Alaska police.

6. What indicates to Krakauer that there was a very close relationship between Carine and Chris?

7. As Krakauer, visiting the site, stood on the banks of the raging Teklanika River, what advantage did he have that Chris did not have?

8. How was Krakauer's Alaska experience different from Chris's?

9. What defense does Krakauer make of Chris's ability to survive in the wild?

10. What was Chris's problem with his parents monetary success?

(see the answer keys)

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