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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. On what date does the author say "it began to rain in Seattle as it had never rained before and has never rained since" in Part 1: What Seasons They Have Been Through, Chapter 5?
(a) July 1, 1933.
(b) December 2, 1933.
(c) March 31, 1914.
(d) March 4, 1933.

2. What was the name of the shell that the freshman crew raced in Poughkeepsie in 1934?
(a) The Husky Clipper.
(b) The Seattle Mariner.
(c) The SS Manhattan.
(d) The City of Seattle.

3. What was the name of the seventeen-year-old boy who sat in the number two seat of the freshman crew in the beginning of Part 2: Resiliency, Chapter 8?
(a) Russell Callow.
(b) Willis Thompson.
(c) Harvey Love.
(d) George Hunt.

4. From where did Joe Rantz's parents move to Spokane after they married?
(a) Cleveland, Ohio.
(b) Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
(c) Newark, New Jersey.
(d) Little Rock, Arkansas.

5. On what date did the University of Washington's freshman and varsity rowing teams board the train for Poughkeepsie in 1934?
(a) August 1, 1934.
(b) September 12, 1934.
(c) December 1, 1934.
(d) June 1, 1934.

Short Answer Questions

1. What word from Part 3: The Parts That Really Matter, Chapter 9 means noisy or clamorous?

2. What was the name of the custom-built sectional boat that Sir Henry Stanley used to search for Dr. David Livingstone in Central Africa in 1874?

3. On what date did Joyce Simdar's family home burn to the ground?

4. What friend of Joe Rantz's was a central figure in one of Daniel James Brown's earlier books, according to the author in the Prologue?

5. On what date did George Pocock and his brother Dick first arrive in Vancouver, Canada?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is Harry Rantz described in Part 1: What Seasons They Have Been Through, Chapter 2? What were Harry's ambitions?

2. Where did the Rantz family live in Seattle when they moved there in 1924-1925? Where did Harry Rantz work at this time?

3. How would you compare the actions, motivations, and characteristics of Joe Rantz and Thula Rantz?

4. How does the author describe Joseph Goebbels' rise to prominence in Part 2: Resiliency, Chapter 6?

5. Where did Joe Rantz go to meet his father in Part 3: The Parts That Really Matter, Chapter 9? How is this meeting described?

6. How does the author describe his first meeting with Joe Rantz in the Prologue of The Boys in the Boat?

7. What were the crew standings like in October of 1933 at the University of Washington? How many boys were still vying for spots on the top boats?

8. How is the theme of "finding value in the discarded" illustrated by the author in Part 2: Resiliency, Chapter 8?

9. What did Joe Rantz's father tell him when he abandoned Joe at the age of fourteen? How did Joe respond to these circumstances?

10. What is the focus of the narrative in Part 3: The Parts That Really Matter, Chapter 9? What function does this chapter serve in the plot?

(see the answer keys)

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