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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the ship's carpenter assigned to do?
(a) repair all the boats to encounter Moby Dick.
(b) erect a tent so Ahab can stay on deck.
(c) build a chair for Ahab on deck.
(d) carve a new ivory peg leg for Ahab.

2. What is the crew of The Delight about to do as the Pequod comes alongside?
(a) bury one of their men.
(b) lower the sails.
(c) repair the masts.
(d) man the whale boats.

3. What further detailed information does Ishmael record about the whale?
(a) he discusses the measurement of the whale.
(b) he talks about the breeding grounds of whales.
(c) he discusses the birth process of whales.
(d) he details migratory habits of whales.

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

5. What does Stubb get from the dead whale?
(a) the skull and teeth.
(b) a substance known as Ambergis.
(c) the tail fins.
(d) the bones in the mouth.

6. Ironically, what is hanging from the taffrail of the Pequod?
(a) an American flag.
(b) a coffin.
(c) a harpoon.
(d) a life buoy.

7. What does Ahab do in an excited state after visiting the Samuel Enderby?
(a) goes to his cabin to sulk.
(b) twists and damages his ivory peg leg.
(c) passes out rum to the crew.
(d) dances a jig on the Pequod.

8. To what does Ishmael attribute the Sag Harbor man's disbelief in the story of Jonah?
(a) his listening to too many doubters.
(b) his custom of arguing with everyone.
(c) his minute education and inability to reason.
(d) his personal experience inside a whale.

9. Where is Ahab on the morning of a clear day as they continue the search for Moby Dick?
(a) on the rail of the deck.
(b) in his cabin.
(c) on top of a mast.
(d) at the bow of the ship.

10. Why does Starbuck send Stubb to report the storm damage to Captain Ahab?
(a) to give Stubb a feeling of importance.
(b) because he is too busy saving the ship.
(c) because Stubb knows how to talk to the captain.
(d) for fear of what he might do to the captain if he goes back.

11. What happens to Ahab's hat as he perches atop the mast?
(a) it blows off and falls into the ocean.
(b) it becomes misshapen in the mist.
(c) a sea hawk steals it.
(d) he throwns it in the ocean as bait.

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

13. Given the irony of the coffin turned life buoy, what is the feeling of foreshadowing?
(a) that death is just a part of life.
(b) that Ahab will die before Moby Dick is spotted.
(c) that there will be death and only one survivor.
(d) that the White Whale will never be found.

14. When Tashtego accidentally falls into the oil-filled head of the whale, who rescues him?
(a) Queequeg.
(b) Starbuck.
(c) Ishmael.
(d) Flask.

15. What does Ishmael conclude about whales' olfactory and vocal systems?
(a) they use smell to find food and sing to tell other whales.
(b) they have a keen sense of smell for communication.
(c) they cannot smell but they communicate with each other.
(d) they can neither smell nor communicate.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the carpenter ordered to do with Queequeg's coffin?

2. What makes Starbuck come and talk to Ahab.

3. What is the condition of the baby whale they harpoon?

4. What does Ahab discover the next morning after the storm?

5. What has the need for revenge done to Ahab's heart?

(see the answer keys)

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