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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. If a robin did not die, it often suffered from __________ as a result of being exposed to DDT.
(a) Blindness
(b) Sterility
(c) Cancer
(d) Deafness

2. In ___________ in the 1950s, the chemical that appeared in the water had actually been created spontaneously by the interaction of other chemicals present.
(a) Florida
(b) California
(c) Maine
(d) Colorado

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

4. Toxic substances work to stop the body's natural functions; some of them may cause __________ to begin growing.
(a) Cancer cells
(b) Poisonous reactions
(c) Resistance
(d) Arms

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

Short Answer Questions

1. ______________ birds have also died as a result of the elm spraying.

2. Studies on the __________ in areas previously sprayed with DDT have confirmed that DDT remains in the birds at least one generation after the spraying.

3. This kind of vegetable absorbs huge levels of poisons, which would have harmed humans if they had eaten the produce.

4. The organic ____________ insecticides like Malathion and parathion are in wide use in 1962, when the book was written.

5. Much of the world's water is polluted by ________ from many sources.

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do the tourists come to see the birds, as stated in this opening chapter?

2. What are some of the ways humans have done great damage to other life forms, according to Carson?

3. What has the environment played an important role in forming, according to this chapter?

4. How is the development of chemical resistance within the insect population a strong example of natural selection?

5. How has infectious disease been controlled in modern society?

6. What do more American children die from today than from any other disease, according to the book as it was written in its own time period?

7. Where does people's chemical exposure mainly come from, according to Carson?

8. What was the cause of the salmon population downfall in the Miramichi River?

9. Why are chemicals seen as so harmful to the soil and to the life within the soil?

10. Describe the cycle of life between the soil, plants, and the animals.

(see the answer keys)

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