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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. How do mice reach the grain at the top of a stalk?
(a) they climb the stalk on the back of other mice
(b) they climb a tree and jump onto the stalk
(c) they wait for the farmer to cut the field
(d) mice chew wheat stems piece by piece

3. How long does it take a tree to recreate ninety-nine percent of its living parts?
(a) twenty-five years
(b) thirty days
(c) one year
(d) a lifetime

4. What causes most insects' behavior?
(a) external stimuli
(b) imitating parents
(c) the structure of their exoskeleton
(d) innate programming

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

6. Why did early Eskimos love winter?
(a) the whales are closer to shore
(b) it is a time to use their sleds to visit other Eskimos
(c) the seals are easier to kill
(d) they like to celebrate winter soltice

7. What did Dillard do at one time about insects as a child?
(a) killed bugs with carbon tetrachloride and then pinned them on labeled boards
(b) catch fireflies in glass jars to watch them glow
(c) watched them in the grass with a magnifying glass
(d) shooed them out of the house before her mother could kill them

8. What does the author believe separates humans from their creator and humans from each other?
(a) self-consciousness
(b) fear
(c) indifference
(d) hate

9. What does Dillard believe is healing?
(a) sunshine
(b) white clouds in blue skies
(c) flowing water
(d) soothing music

10. One branch of Jewish philosophy believes that part of the responsibility of humans is to do what?
(a) to experience the moment
(b) stand in for God with the animals
(c) to help God by hallowing creation
(d) planting trees

11. What does Dillard believe about nature and change?
(a) change in nature is sporatic and unpredictable
(b) nature changes quickly
(c) nature is constantly changing
(d) nature does not change, or changes extremely slow

12. When Dillard moves from describing details of creation to trying to understand more about creation what is she doing?
(a) moving from what to why
(b) getting a little strange
(c) trying to think too much
(d) moving from logic to mysticism

13. What does Dillard's fascination and stories about praying mantises demonstrate?
(a) both her fascination and revulsion of the world of nature
(b) she watches horror movies too
(c) she wants to change the way some things are
(d) she never saw insects before moving to Tinker Creek

14. Before a baby can distinguish objects, what kind does it prefer?
(a) ones that have bright colors
(b) ones that sparkle and shine
(c) complex designs over simple ones
(d) ones that have moving parts

15. How do ladybugs hibernate?
(a) ladybugs hibernate in large masses
(b) ladybugs hide beneath the bark on trees
(c) ladybugs hibernate under the roots of trees
(d) ladybugs die off in winter

Short Answer Questions

1. What is it about weather that Dillard believes is a phenomena worth writing about?

2. Dillard writes that she is an avid collector of what?

3. What is the literal act of seeing?

4. In Alaska and northern Canada during winter what is a topic of continual fascination?

5. What does Dillard find out when she takes her first course in French?

(see the answer keys)

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