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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Los Angeles Against the Mountains.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. 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) Concrete seawalls.
(b) Extended, raised levees.
(c) Drought conditions.
(d) Prosperous economic boom.

2. As the Genofile family seeks refuge in the parents' bedroom when the debris flow hits their home, what happens?
(a) The flow pushes the family outside through a window.
(b) The family members are separated from each other.
(c) The house fills with mud, water and rocks within minutes.
(d) Lightning strikes the family's home.

3. When Magnus Magnusson takes the author to visit an old monument in Iceland, what do they do?
(a) Carve a new inscription on the monument.
(b) Leave a wreathe and sing a battle song.
(c) Say a prayer for those who died in the eruption.
(d) Read its inscription and view the landscape.

4. Henry Shreve changes the Mississippi River by introducing what?
(a) New fish breeds.
(b) Vegetation native to Mexico.
(c) Gambling along the river.
(d) Mississippi steamboat.

5. After describing debris basins, the author flashes back to the Genofile family. What do rescuers believe when they arrive at the family's house after the debris flow?
(a) The area is too unstable to attempt a rescue.
(b) The house had been empty for a while.
(c) The family escaped somehow.
(d) Nobody survived.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. During the debris flow, what lands on the roof of the Genofile family's home?

3. In the early 1800s, private plantation owners in Louisiana levee riverbanks to:

4. When does hot lava stop glowing red?

5. Norris F. Rabalais was born and raised in what Louisiana parish?

(see the answer key)

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