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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. Why is the road to Mt. Elgon so familiar to the author?

2. What does McCormick observe in the Ebola victims in the Zande village?

3. What is an "askari"?

4. What is Hazleton policy on when to change needles?

5. What does MacDonald say is missing in the forests of Mount Elgon?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are the results of Nancy's examination of the monkey's stomach?

2. What is the Army's policy about hazard pay for biohazard work?

3. What is the compromise that the CDC and USAMRIID come up with?

4. What is the memory that Nancy has of her father and her childhood?

5. How is the virus in the monkeys like the Andromeda Strain?

6. Describe the close calls that Gene Johnson has had with Level 4 hot agents.

7. Why does Preston characterize the emergence of HIV as "subtle"?

8. Why doesn't Jerry like the idea of shooting the loose monkey?

9. What did the first radio reports say that frightened lab workers in the monkey house?

10. Why does the Kenyan government require that all visitors to Mount Elgon have an armed guard?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the book, different characters must confront the conflict between wanting to keep animals healthy and having to harm animals sometimes in their pursuit of scientific research. Examine at least three examples of this in the text. Describe the situations, and then write about how you would deal with this conflict. Do you think this is ethical behavior? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

The omnipresent fear of death that all humans feel is illustrated throughout the book, especially as they express "awe" (a mixture of respect and fear) in the face of deadly viruses. Find details in the book that represent this awe and fear, and explain how Preston's narrative style and tone are able to capture this fear. How do doctors, scientists, and health professionals react to disease in the book? Select five characters and describe how they react to death or the fear of death.

Essay Topic 3

Summarize the reasons and the process that Peter Jahrling and Tom Geisbert used to reach their decision NOT to tell about their possible exposure after the "whiffing incident". Do you agree with the decision they made?

- What were their considerations about the incubation period?

- What do Jahrling and Geisbert know about the Slammer that affected their decision?

- Why doesn't Jahrling think he is putting his family at risk?

- How did the right to name a new virus affect their decision?

- Based on what you know about the fatality rate of Marburg and other filoviruses, do you think that Jahrling and Geisbert made a good decision? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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