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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers develops a plan to do what?

3. In the early days of New Orleans, residents build their homes on what?

4. 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?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. Throughout the 1700s and 1800s, what did people in southern Louisiana do to protect their communities and land against floods?

2. Explain who thinks the Old River Control project is an arrogant enterprise, and why they think this.

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

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

5. What is Major General Sands' concluding thoughts regarding the Old River Control Structure?

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

7. In 1927, what happened to the region of the Mississippi River during the great flood?

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

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

10. What is the Old River Control project developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain how the work crews, commanders, and scientists in "Cooling The Lava" learn by trial and error.

1. What mistakes do they make along the way?

2. What do they learn from these mistakes, and how do they adapt?

3. What might the outcome have been had they not been as flexible in their approach?

Essay Topic 2

John McPhee shows how man works hard to control nature in an attempt to protect communities and economic centers.

1. Using one of the three main stories covered in "The Control of Nature," show how man is in conflict with nature.

2. Do people's efforts to redirect or tame natural forces solve problems or make them worse? Explain.

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast how residents of Hawaii and residents of Iceland handle the challenges that come from living on volcanic lands.

(see the answer keys)

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