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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. How does Sigurdur Steinthorsson monitor volcanic gases during the 1973 eruption?
(a) Measuring static electricity.
(b) Infrared glasses.
(c) Particle detector.
(d) Smoking cigars.

2. Why do residents of Heimaey hose down oncoming lava?
(a) It was attempted there before successfully.
(b) Because of local superstitions.
(c) Create a chilled wall of lava to stop the flow.
(d) Act of desperation in fear of the oncoming lava.

3. What ultimately happens to the moving piece of mountain on Vestmannaeyjar?
(a) Completely destroys the town and stops.
(b) Falls into the ocean.
(c) Breaks up into smaller, non-moving pieces.
(d) Hits another mountain and stops.

4. After the eruptions of 1973 end, how many of Heimaey's evacuees return?
(a) Half.
(b) Two-thirds.
(c) Only a handful.
(d) All of them.

5. Results of the U.S. Army Air Corps' actions on an insulating vent on Mauna Loa volcano in 1935 cannot be confirmed because:
(a) The sensors melt.
(b) The volcano stops erupting.
(c) Workers can't get close enough.
(d) The Corps' loses funding.

Short Answer Questions

1. Even though Hawaii's Hilo is often threatened by lava flows, Hilo has thus far been protected because:

2. What position does Magnus Magnusson hold in 1973?

3. When does the author visit Vestmannaeyjar?

4. Thorbjorn Sigurgeirsson decides to try to stop the chunk of mountain moving towards Heimaey's town and harbor by:

5. What happens when the north side of the volcanic mountain in Vestmannaeyjar breaks loose?

Short Essay Questions

1. The author moves away from his discussion of Iceland's 1973 lava eruptions to talk about Hawaii's volcanoes. Describe what he writes about the U.S. Army Air Corps' attempts to stop lava from burying Hawaii's towns and cities.

2. Describe how workers are able to walk upon lava fields as they try to cool down the lava on Heimaey in 1973.

3. How do the views of Hawaiian natives towards volcanoes differ from the views of the U.S. Army Air Corps?

4. How do the working crews stop the large chunk of mountain from crashing into Heimaey's town and port?

5. How is Heimaey's harbor altered after the eruptions and lava flows of 1973?

6. What role does Magnus Magnusson play during the 1973 volcanic eruptions in Heimaey?

7. How do residents of Heimaey benefit from the cooling but still hot lava after the 1973 eruptions?

8. What hazards do workers face as they try to stop the lava flows?

9. Is there any warning prior to the eruption in Heimaey that began on January 23, 1973?

10. Describe work crews' first attempts at cooling off the lava flows of Heimaey in 1973.

(see the answer keys)

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