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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. The author mentions that when he met Rabalais, he wore what in his pocket?
(a) Checkered bandana.
(b) Silver pocket watch.
(c) Gold pocket watch.
(d) Red bandana.

2. 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) An intense lightning storm develops over the area.
(b) The two-hundred thousand ton structure is vibrating.
(c) A hurricane is headed his way.
(d) A freak tidal wave is coming towards the structure.

3. Congress mandates that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers survey the Mississippi and tributaries in order to assure and improve what?
(a) Aquatic recreation.
(b) Farmland irrigation.
(c) Water rights.
(d) Inland navigation.

4. Sympathetically, who does McPhee blame for destructive actions against the natural order of the environment?
(a) The United Nations.
(b) The Executive branch of government.
(c) Man.
(d) Foreign policy.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the author's role in this book?

2. Who is Raphael G. Kazmann?

3. In 1973, what happens to the Old River Control structure despite engineers drilling it and filling it with cement?

4. What river does the author mention that connects the Atchafalaya and the Mississippi to form an H?

5. In a conversation between General Sands and Oliver Houck on a floating conference boat, what does the General remind Houck regarding the vital role of the U.S. Army Corps?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe what McPhee writes about Morgan City, Louisiana.

2. Describe Major General Thomas Sands' annual Low Water Inspection Trip along the Mississippi River.

3. Explain how the Mississippi River forms Louisiana over many centuries.

4. Why does the author state that ever since the Corps took control of the Atchafalaya, the river's name means "collision" to him?

5. Who is Henry Shreve, and what does he do?

6. In the 1700s, why did people settle in New Orleans and surrounding areas despite the region clearly being a floodplain?

7. Congress enacts the Flood Control Act in 1928 to launch the Mississippi River and Tributaries Project. What is done through this project?

8. What are some of the predominant problems in the regions populated near the Atchafalaya and Mississippi rivers?

9. What are some of the main points the author tries to make through this work of historical nonfiction?

10. What is the goal of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with regards to the Atchafalya and Mississippi rivers?

(see the answer keys)

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