View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why doesn't Dirk want to leave the Martha Ann on the helicopter to go and get the salvage team?
(a) Because if something happens, there is no alternate escape route for the crew.
(b) He doesn't believe the sub can be salvaged.
(c) He doesn't want to miss the action on the Martha Ann.
(d) Because he's afraid to fly in the dark.

2. What color is Summer's hair?
(a) Dark brown.
(b) Red.
(c) Black.
(d) Dirty blonde.

3. Who says: "I shot down Admiral Sandecker and his staff over the China Sea."?
(a) ADM Hunter.
(b) LCDR Boland.
(c) CDR Denver.
(d) Dirk Pitt.

4. How long does it take Dirk to recover himself after Summer attacks him and he knocks her out enough to get them both back to his hotel room?
(a) 10 minutes.
(b) 15 minutes.
(c) Four minutes.
(d) One hour.

5. What is the time lapse between the disaster that befell the ship and the beginning of the narrative that ADM Hunter relates?
(a) Five days.
(b) Six months.
(c) Two weeks.
(d) Unknown.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why is diving on a wrecked submarine different from a wrecked ship for Dirk?

2. What is Dirk's official professional title?

3. What smell is associated with the attack on the Lillie Marlene?

4. What does Dirk communicate about the sub's crew in his initial message back to the Martha Ann?

5. Which seamen could have survived immediately after "the disaster" befell the Starbuck according to the logbook?

Short Essay Questions

1. Acting on a hunch, Dirk goes to the Polynesian history museum to visit a friend well versed in the history and culture of the Hawaiian and Pacific Islands. Why?

2. "Perhaps Pitt could do the impossible after all." These words go through Boland's mind after he hears that Pitt is radioing the Martha Ann from the Starbuck. There are several other references throughout the book so far that indicate Dirk has a reputation for being the sort of person who makes the wildly improbable succeed effortless. Who else has said this and where is that perception originating?

3. How are the dead bodies described on the Lillie Marlene? How does this description contribute to the myth of the Pacific Vortex?

4. Other than the submarine not being wholly flooded, what is the single most important fact that Dirk relays over the Starbuck's radio to the Martha Ann and why is it of the utmost significance?

5. Dirk does not appreciate ADM Hunter's highhanded move to take control of his [Dirk's] life by having him detailed to his [ADM Hunter's] command. How is he "persuaded" into it?

6. What are some ways the Pacific Vortex is different from the Bermuda Triangle and other legendary danger areas?

7. Cussler also provides good information about shark behavior and risks. What is it?

8. What two things does the receptionist at ADM Hunter's office assume of Dirk Pitt when he arrives in his bathing suit?

9. CDR Dupree says he ordered, "All ballast blown and hard rise on the planes." What are planes in reference to a submarine?

10. Why is Dirk's helicopter a necessary component of the crew on the Martha Ann?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,069 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample