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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does the narrator examine for an hour in a mine in order to write an article?
(a) The damages of an earthquake.
(b) The working conditions of miners.
(c) The amount of gold in the mine.
(d) The amount of silver in the mine.

2. What does the narrator do after his lectures become a success?
(a) He hires an agent.
(b) He gives an interview to the newspaper.
(c) He hires a co-writer.
(d) He begins writing his lectures out to be published in the newspaper.

3. According to the narrator, what is one of the hottest places in the world?
(a) Antelope Valley.
(b) Lanfair Valley.
(c) Simi Valley.
(d) Sacramento Valley.

4. What happens to the cities that once flourished during the Gold Rush?
(a) Half of them are still there.
(b) Most of them are still there.
(c) Less than half of them are still there.
(d) They disappear completely.

5. Although his work is never published in the paper, what does the narrator write specifically for The Occidental?
(a) A short fictional story.
(b) A short non-fictional story.
(c) A review.
(d) A poem.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the primary content of the Whiteman Cement Mine?

2. What city is the narrator in when he waits in line to see a woman while mining?

3. As the narrator returns home at the end of the book, how long did his trip last?

4. How is the silver ore melted before it is shipped to California?

5. What salary does the narrator start off with while working at the newspaper?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Higbie, and why is he valuable for the narrator's search of Mr. Whiteman?

2. What is the rivalry between Captain Ned Blakely and Bill Nookes?

3. How does the narrator describe Hawaii and what initial setback does he encounter there?

4. How does the narrator describe San Francisco?

5. What is the new career choice the narrator makes towards the end of the book, and how does it begin?

6. Who is Jack Williams and what does his story depict about Nevada in the late 1800s?

7. What are the two different reasons that both the narrator and Higbie abandon their blind lead claim, and what is the result?

8. What causes the narrator to travel to San Francisco?

9. How long is the narrator's trip, and what does he conclude at the end of the story?

10. What difficulties does the narrator have in finding stories to write?

(see the answer keys)

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