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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What reaction do both Ahab and Starbuck have to the Spanish doubloon still nailed to the mast?
(a) eagerness.
(b) sadness.
(c) greed.
(d) hope.

2. Why does Ahab order a basket to take him to the top of one of the masts?
(a) he doubts if the crew would tell him if they spotted Moby Dick.
(b) he wants Moby Dick to spot him easily.
(c) he hopes Moby Dick can smell him and attack the ship.
(d) he wants to be the first one to see the huge whale.

3. How does Stubb regain a dead whale from a French whaling boat?
(a) by using humor and intelligence.
(b) by playing poker.
(c) by threatening to blow up their boat.
(d) by stealing the dead whale at night.

4. What happens on the third day after spotting Moby Dick?
(a) Moby Dick swims to the other side of the Pequod.
(b) Ahab falls into the ocean but gets back in the boat.
(c) Ahab misses with his harpoon.
(d) Ahab harpoons the whale.

5. What do they find in the corpse of the blind and crippled whale?
(a) an unborn whale.
(b) the remains of a man.
(c) timbers from a whaling boat.
(d) a harpoon and cord and a stone lance.

6. What do Ahab and the captain of the Samuel Enderby have in common?
(a) they are both looking for information about Moby Dick.
(b) they both lost a limb to Moby Dick.
(c) they are both insane.
(d) they are both looking for revenge against Moby Dick.

7. What do passing sailors say about the white whale?
(a) they heard it was caught and killed.
(b) they spotted it yesterday.
(c) they do not believe it exists.
(d) they think it has returned to the Indian Ocean.

8. How is Starbuck a singular character on board the Pequod at this point?
(a) he is the only one supporting Ahab.
(b) he is the only one openly opposed to Ahab.
(c) he is the only one the crew hates.
(d) he is the only one sure that Moby Dick is nearby.

9. What does Ishmael say the head of a sperm whale resembles?
(a) a Grecian urn.
(b) a Roman chariot.
(c) the toe of a boot.
(d) a boulder.

10. What is the next whaling ship the Pequod meets during the search for Moby Dick?
(a) The Bounty.
(b) The Nantucket.
(c) The Delight.
(d) The Barbara Ellen.

11. What happens on this first encounter with Moby Dick?
(a) Moby Dick is harpooned but gets away.
(b) one of the boats is destroyed.
(c) Ahab's peg leg is broken off and Fedallah is missing.
(d) Ahab finds his hat floating on the ocean.

12. What is the carpenter doing when Ahab ascends to deck the next morning?
(a) turning the coffin into a life buoy.
(b) repairing holes in the deck.
(c) carving Ahab's new ivory leg.
(d) making a table for the captain.

13. What happens to the mast of the Pequod during a typhoon?
(a) it catches on fire.
(b) it glows in the dark.
(c) it loses all its sails.
(d) it breaks in two.

14. What foreshadows what is likely to happen to Ahab and Fedallah?
(a) a story Fedallah tells while on Ahab's boat.
(b) a dream Ahab has while waiting out the night.
(c) a story Ahab remembers about Moby Dick.
(d) a dream Fedallah has while on Ahab's boat.

15. What danger does Ishmael say the whale wields in particular?
(a) the whale can do great damage with its tail.
(b) the whale can call for other whales to attack a ship.
(c) the whale never forgets.
(d) the whale can fluke and land on a ship.

Short Answer Questions

1. From what does the Pequod escape at sea?

2. How does Ishmael classify the oiling of the bottom of a boat?

3. What is the first thing Moby Dick does when he is spotted?

4. How does Ahab die?

5. What had one of the boats from The Rachel accomplished?

(see the answer keys)

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