1. The author retells the time when Raphael G. Kazmann walks out onto the five hundred and sixty-six foot structure over the Old River but leaves quickly because:
(a) A hurricane is headed his way.
(b) The two-hundred thousand ton structure is vibrating.
(c) An intense lightning storm develops over the area.
(d) A freak tidal wave is coming towards the structure.

2. Vestmannaeyjar holds how much of Iceland's total population?
(a) Forty-two and a half percent.
(b) Two and a half percent.
(c) Twelve percent.
(d) Twenty-two percent.

3. When the author recounts the moments before the 1973 eruption in Heimaey, he describes what?
(a) A loud, deep sound emanating from the volcano.
(b) A violent shaking of the ground.
(c) An uncanny silence settling over the land.
(d) Vibrations that are not unusual for the region.

4. Initially, Rabalais is hired as a construction inspector to watch for what at the navigation lock?
(a) Illegal drug shipments.
(b) Trapped seals.
(c) Oversized ships.
(d) Escaping water.

5. During the fifty years between New Orleans' floods of 1735 and 1785, what does the author say brings a false sense of security against flooding?
(a) Drought conditions.
(b) Extended, raised levees.
(c) Concrete seawalls.
(d) Prosperous economic boom.

Short Answer Questions

1. At one point, Rabalais drives the author first to the Mississippi River and then to the Atchafalaya River, showing him that the Mississippi is 18 feet above sea level while the Atchafalaya is how many feet above sea level?

2. What childhood fear does Magnus Magnusson share with the author?

3. What is commonly fished from the bayou regions around the Atchafalaya?

4. When does the author visit Vestmannaeyjar?

5. A navigation lock on the bank of the Mississippi River lowers ships down to where?

(see the answer key)

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