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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In many cases, the spraying is killing wildflowers which attract ___________.
(a) Water
(b) Animals
(c) Insects
(d) Tourists

2. ____________ can eliminate only the unwanted plants and give the beneficial plants a chance to thrive.
(a) Selective spraying
(b) Herbicides
(c) Dangerous chemicals
(d) Targeted extermination

3. What lingers on the rooftops in Carson's description of the demise of the environment?
(a) Black birds
(b) White powder
(c) Smog
(d) Insects

4. The roadsides are lush with trees, ferns, and ____________.
(a) Wildflowers
(b) Birds
(c) Soil
(d) Stones

5. What is used to pollinate the plants and to pollinate the trees?
(a) Humans
(b) Hummingbirds
(c) Scientists
(d) Bees

6. What is plentiful in the streams, providing good fishing spots since early settler times?
(a) Eels
(b) Guppies
(c) Insects
(d) Trout

7. What did the earthworms dine on that infected them with DDT?
(a) Mulch of elm leaves
(b) Flowers
(c) Bird droppings
(d) Soil

8. The organic ____________ insecticides like Malathion and parathion are in wide use in 1962, when the book was written.
(a) Boron
(b) Phosphorus
(c) Carbon
(d) Arsenic

9. Who was intended to benefit from the removal of sagebrush from the American West?
(a) Other plant species
(b) Livestock
(c) Birds
(d) Lizards

10. The population of Japanese Beetles in sprayed areas is ______________ .
(a) Gone
(b) Going down
(c) Larger than ever
(d) Unchanged

11. Continued use of pesticides could very well damage soil ___________.
(a) Illegally
(b) In some areas
(c) Over time
(d) Beyond repair

12. The _________ of Wyoming which supported many animal species were unintentionally killed, leading to massive animal death.
(a) Willows
(b) Trees
(c) Weeds
(d) Sagebrush

13. How long can chemicals remain in the soil to which they are applied?
(a) A few days
(b) 1 month
(c) 1 year
(d) 12 years

14. Carson wonders - How can we as __________ beings continue to allow such rampant and unjustified killings?
(a) Human
(b) Moral
(c) Intelligent
(d) Living

15. The Earth itself is ________ only as long as the creatures within it are.
(a) Clean
(b) Healthy
(c) Useful
(d) Promising

Short Answer Questions

1. Large-scale, single-crop farming eliminates the _______________ that provided built in control of pests.

2. If a robin did not die, it often suffered from __________ as a result of being exposed to DDT.

3. What group of substances includes insecticides and pesticides?

4. What happens to the people in the beginning description which puzzles doctors?

5. What did the birds provide naturally that made their deaths all the more significant?

(see the answer keys)

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