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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. When Dillard raps on the goldfish bowl, what does the fish do?
(a) swims around the bowl three times
(b) dive to the bottom
(c) stays perfectly still for ten seconds
(d) swim to the surface

2. She claims the ability to see what is hidden is what?
(a) fate
(b) a piece of luck
(c) a special talent
(d) a gift

3. What does the author say the future is?
(a) a cricket's song on a sultry night
(b) baby birds who have just hatched
(c) a wind coming from the east
(d) light on the water and a spirit

4. In Chapter 5 Dillard writes about finding a snake. What appeared peculiar about the snake?
(a) it had a outer and inner skin
(b) it was pure white
(c) it was tied in a knot
(d) it had two heads

5. If you remove the answer in question #86 from chlorophyll, you create a molecule of what?
(a) carbon dioxide
(b) chlorine gas
(c) hemoglobin
(d) water

6. In addition to form and texture, what does the author believe influences beauty?
(a) color
(b) time
(c) perception
(d) time of day

7. Who does Dillard think gravitates towards the field of botany?
(a) truly ethical thinkers
(b) people who were raised in rural areas
(c) no one in particular
(d) those who don't like people

8. What is the translation of trompes-l' esprit ?
(a) triumph and agony
(b) till tomorrow
(c) tribulation preceeds victory
(d) trick of the mind

9. How are ladybugs shipped to gardeners?
(a) the hibernating bugs are packed in boxes of pine cones
(b) they are shipped in the spring, the nests are shipped in one piece
(c) they are packed in soil and water
(d) captured in nets and sedated with alcohol

10. What does the author see as an active mystery?
(a) whether there's life after death
(b) Tinker Creek
(c) if the creek will ever get bigger
(d) whether it will rain that day

11. What is the analogy she draws between the snake skin and the seasons?
(a) there is no analogy between snakes and seasons
(b) snakes move depending on the season
(c) seasons are a continuous loop, just as she thought the snakeskin was
(d) snakes shed skins in accordance with the seasons

12. How do honey bees survive the cold of winter?
(a) build nest in the ground and sleep during winter
(b) go to sleep inside their honey combs
(c) cluster together in giant balls
(d) they don't survive, honey bees die off in the winter

13. When a scientist disrupted pine caterpillars' food trail, what happened?
(a) they turned around and followed their trail back home
(b) the caterpillars could not restart a new trail
(c) they stopped, and stayed still until they died
(d) half of caterpillars made a new trail off to the right

14. At a ranch, Dillard drew a horse. It wasn't a good picture. Others who lived at the ranch drew great horses. Why?
(a) they were more artistic
(b) they knew all the bones and muscles of a horse
(c) they had a lot of practice drawing horses
(d) they loved horses

15. Chlorophyll has a single atom of what substance in the center?
(a) magnesium
(b) carbon
(c) hydrogen
(d) zinc

Short Answer Questions

1. Dillard opens this first chapter remembering this animal.

2. Where does Dillard makes a pilgrimage to every month?

3. What does the author believe about acts of physical courage?

4. What does Dillard say about humans and change?

5. How do mice reach the grain at the top of a stalk?

(see the answer keys)

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