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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who took to wearing potato flowers in her hair in order to encourage the peasants to grow this plant for themselves?
(a) Catherine the Great.
(b) Anne Tyler.
(c) No one.
(d) Marie Antoinette.

2. For the first time in history, the __________ of a plant is being domesticated by humans and by the scientific changes of humans.
(a) Color.
(b) Chemical structure.
(c) Genome.
(d) Taste.

3. ______ present in species such as the wild parsnip cause the animals that eat it to burn in the sun.
(a) Photosensitizers.
(b) Anthocyanins.
(c) Flavenoids.
(d) Photosynthesizers.

4. Pollan believes that the idea of planting and of growing plants causes humans to be filled with a sense of _________.
(a) Peace.
(b) Power.
(c) Honor.
(d) Humility.

5. Gene flow normally occurs between closely related __________, so it seems that the Monsanto varieties will not spawn superweeds.
(a) Species.
(b) Waters.
(c) Environments.
(d) Lands.

6. Some Christians believed that potato was the _________ matter, while bread was antimatter and even spirit in nature.
(a) Dirt.
(b) Lower.
(c) Hell.
(d) Base.

7. A _______ is one that is used for getting cuttings. Like the apples, the result of the impact of this may be detrimental to the species.
(a) Mother plant.
(b) Brother plant.
(c) Father plant.
(d) Sister plant.

8. ______ has written two books claiming that consciousness changing is a basic human activity that even children seek out.
(a) Michael Pollan.
(b) Deepak Chopra.
(c) Michael Palin.
(d) Andrew Weil.

9. The weedy _________ potatoes on the edges of Andean farms caused changes in the strains of potatoes which would grow.
(a) Green.
(b) White.
(c) Dark.
(d) Wild.

10. According to the book, some of the most bitter and "bad" plants are the ones that contain the most powerful _______.
(a) Herbs.
(b) Magic.
(c) Potions.
(d) Seeds.

11. Pollan suggests that on a biochemical level, psychoactive plants affect the brain much the way that the following activities except ______ affect it.
(a) Exercise.
(b) Meditation.
(c) Fasting.
(d) Cold showers.

12. According to the book, drugs that alter the user's perception of time and space are taboo because they disrupt the _______.
(a) Religious order.
(b) Verbal order.
(c) Social order.
(d) Political order.

13. A growing technique which requires few tools and and a minimal amount of labor is called a ___________.
(a) Sleepy bed.
(b) Easy bed.
(c) True bed.
(d) Lazy bed.

14. _______ became a new capital for marijuana cultivation during the American drug war of the nineties.
(a) Amsterdam.
(b) Paris.
(c) Berlin.
(d) San Francisco.

15. Goats are associated with the discovery of _____, when it was observed they became frisky after eating the red berries.
(a) Tea.
(b) Coffee.
(c) Chocolate.
(d) Mistletoe.

Short Answer Questions

1. Dave Hjelle from Monstanto tells Pollan something that makes him a little concerned. He says, "______________."

2. _________ is one example of a chemical which was tested before it was used, only to find that later on it affected other ecosystems.

3. The book states that one culture's cure all could be another culture's 'root of all evil' also known as ________.

4. What kind of storm took place in December of 1999, causing the gardens of Versailles to be ruined?

5. The new potato called "NewLeaf" has been genetically engineered in order to produce its own ______________.

(see the answer keys)

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