View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. After the U.S. Army Corps takes control of the Atchafalaya, Old Cajun bayou life is:
(a) Diminished.
(b) Renewed.
(c) Lost.
(d) Enriched.

2. Rabalais says he remembers being taught in high school that one day, these would be built:
(a) Skyscrapers along the river banks.
(b) Structures to control water flows.
(c) Ships to travel faster along rivers.
(d) Lighter and sturdier barges.

3. Who is Raphael G. Kazmann?
(a) Developer of tripod pilings.
(b) Author of Modern Thermodynamics.
(c) Developer of electromagnetic therapy.
(d) Author of Modern Hydrology.

4. While aboard the Mississippi on his annual trip, General Sands tries to:
(a) Settle differences.
(b) Fine environmentalists.
(c) Capture poachers.
(d) Generate new contracts.

5. From the time that the U.S. Army Corps takes control of the Atchafalaya, what word does the author associate with the river and the region?
(a) Cooperation.
(b) Confusion.
(c) Control.
(d) Collision.

6. What is the author's role in this book?
(a) Passive observer.
(b) Investigative reporter.
(c) Trained scientist.
(d) Influential politician.

7. During high spring waters, what danger forms unseen beneath turbulent waters at the outflow to the Atchafalaya?
(a) Treacherous new rip currents.
(b) An enormous hole larger and deeper than a football stadium.
(c) A crack in a gate of the control structure.
(d) The partial collapse of one of the pylons.

8. In 1928, Congress enacts the Flood Control Act to start what?
(a) Atchafalaya River and Levees Project.
(b) Old and New Rivers Effort.
(c) Rivers, Tributaries, and Levees Effort.
(d) Mississippi River and Tributaries Project.

9. What does James B. Eads invent to explore the Mississippi River?
(a) Glass-bottom boat.
(b) Underwater camera.
(c) Submarine.
(d) Water telescope.

10. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers distributes Atchafalaya river water to swamps, bayous, towns, and cities in:
(a) French Acadia.
(b) Shreveport, Louisiana.
(c) Neighboring Mississippi.
(d) Houston, Texas.

11. The livelihood of approximately how many people is affected by the Old River Control?
(a) 3 million.
(b) 3 thousand.
(c) 31 thousand.
(d) 13 hundred.

12. In New Orleans' earliest days, French settlers begin to live there despite the fact that the area:
(a) Belongs to Spain.
(b) Is plagued by giant storms on a weekly basis.
(c) Is full of poisonous snakes.
(d) Has practically no solid ground.

13. The author tells stories of the following people in conflict with forces of nature:
(a) All of the them.
(b) Residents.
(c) Government officials.
(d) Engineers.

14. What does the author say happens in the area of the Atchafalaya River in the spring of 1973?
(a) Dry conditions bring the river levels down, grounding countless boats.
(b) River levels rise and surrounding fields are covered in brown floodwater.
(c) Freak storms from the north bring snow to the region, freezing the rivers solid.
(d) Three hurricanes devastate the region, leaving millions homeless.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. The author asserts that due to floods in the region, Louisiana loses how much land each year?

2. The author notes that many regard the Old River Project as what?

3. 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:

4. Every thousand years or so, the Mississippi River goes through a major shift that leaves behind what?

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

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 593 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample