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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Steinbeck lament about that is in connection with persistence of beliefs and actual happenings?
(a) That actual happenings are always distorted to give way to more controversial beliefs.
(b) That persistence of beliefs can actually lead to actual happenings.
(c) That actual happenings are actually the basis of many persistent beliefs.
(d) That a good hypothesis can blind a person to alternative theories and even to actual data that could disprove it.

2. What does the expedition party hear about Mulege which make it an undesirable destination?
(a) That the place has unfair port fees and malaria.
(b) That snakes litter the area.
(c) That visitors are clubbed by unfriendly locals.
(d) That there are many poisonous fish in the water.

3. After facing difficulties collecting specimens, what do Steinbeck and Ricketts do instead on Easter Sunday ?
(a) Tex, Tiny and Sparky are tasked to catch everything that comes ashore.
(b) They place a big basin just near the shore and catch whatever the tide brings in.
(c) Steinbeck and Ricketts hire several locals to do it for them.
(d) They place a light near the surface of the water, and catch what the light attracts.

4. What particular sea creature interests Tiny on their way to Estero de la Luna?
(a) Giant sea horses.
(b) Giant manta rays.
(c) Giant sea turtles.
(d) Giant porpoises.

5. On Easter Sunday, despite facing difficulties collecting specimens, Steinbeck and Ricketts are able to catch a significant marine life - what is it?
(a) A large, century old turtle.
(b) A large, beautiful lobster.
(c) A small, printed seahorse.
(d) A shiny, white porpoise.

6. How can the crew's dining activities be best described?
(a) They eat sandwiches day and night, and coffee to go with it.
(b) The party is eating mostly fish and biscuits, except when Sparky makes spaghetti.
(c) They refrain from eating fish since it reminds them too much of the species they have collected.
(d) They eat rice and soup, which Sparky makes from the seaweed they have collected.

7. How does the expedition party scare the shark that was circling their their boat?
(a) They scare it with a pistol shot.
(b) They scare it by throwing some soiled shirts to the sea.
(c) They scare it by throwing sticks at it.
(d) They scare it by playing loud music.

8. How does the morning of March 31 affect the activities of the expedition party?
(a) There is a celebration in town and the expedition party is distracted and lured into attending the party.
(b) There is a storm on the horizon which prompts the crew to leave earlier than planned.
(c) It is raining heavily which makes it impossible to collect anything on shore or underwater.
(d) Although it is low tide, the tide was quite high and the wind is up, making it difficult to collect onshore or underwater.

9. What concept does Steinbeck muse on, as inspired by the seemingly millions of fish in the water?
(a) The culinary delights that can be made out of the many fish in the ocean.
(b) The wealth and poverty and its inequality.
(c) The schooling behavior of fishes.
(d) The duration of the trip and decides to go back for a longer one.

10. How many giant sea turtles does the group catch on April 11 in Agiabampo?
(a) None.
(b) One.
(c) Three.
(d) Two.

11. When the sea is very smooth, what does the crew do to take advantage of the calm seas?
(a) They label and sort their collection.
(b) They play a game of hockey.
(c) They cook omelette which is very hard to cook perfectly on a rough sea,
(d) They iron their clothes.

12. What does the expedition party do differently on the morning of March 28?
(a) They have tea instead of coffee for breakfast.
(b) They have a late morning, waking up at nine am.
(c) They have omelettes, which they haven't had in days.
(d) They have breakfast in bed.

13. Where in Puerto Refugio does the expedition party collect specimens?
(a) They took a small boat to go to the island near Puerto Refugio.
(b) They do not find any place to collect anything from.
(c) They go to the edge of Puerto Refugio and wait for the tide to go down before collecting specimens.
(d) They find an area with abundant tidepools and this is where they collect specimens.

14. Why does everyone feel a bit gloomy on their return to the Gulf?
(a) They feel that the expedition is a failure.
(b) Some want to stay while some are eager to get to the end.
(c) One of their crew members dies.
(d) They all want to stay for one more week at sea.

15. How is the team's photography effort described in general?
(a) There is nothing mentioned about the team's photography efforts.
(b) It is so poor that it is used as an example of what shouldn't be done with a camera.
(c) It is so remarkable that it is cited as an example of what expeditions should follow during voyages.
(d) It is neither remarkably good or remarkably bad.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Steinbeck describe the environment and marine life that they find in Puerto Refugio?

2. Why does the party chose not to dock in Guaymas and instead anchor in a nearby bay?

3. From his philosophical discussions, what does Steinbeck suddenly suggest?

4. Why is the tide chart no longer usable?

5. Where does the expedition party go after Laredo?

(see the answer keys)

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