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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. What instrument does Raul use, which Steinbeck and Ricketts buy from him?
(a) A harpoon.
(b) A gun.
(c) A bow and arrow.
(d) A knife.

2. What difficulty does the expedition party encounter when they were collecting specimen in Cabo San Lucas?
(a) The local officials do not want them to take anything away, and suggest instead that they study the specimen while they are ashore.
(b) Collecting specimens is difficult due to the unique characteristics of the species such as the posionous spines of the worms which was hazardous to the activity.
(c) The local policemen require that each should have driver's license, which Steinbeck and Ricketts do not have.
(d) The locals do not want them to go ashore which make collecting specimen an impossibility.

3. What does the expedition party find on their destination on March 23?
(a) It has little life form and there is not much of interest to collect.
(b) It requires a visitor's tax and they do not have enough money to pay the tax.
(c) It has abundant life form and they need more tha a month to fully collect all the interesting specimen present.
(d) It was full of other visitors, tourists who have heard about the place, and they cannot do any collection activity.

4. How are Tiny and Sparky presented?
(a) Tiny and Sparky are presented as mortal enemies, always fighting each other and having opposing views.
(b) Tiny and Sparky are presented as similar to husband and wives, always looking after each other, and attending to each other's needs.
(c) Tiny and Sparky are presented almost as two halves of one person, seeming to always do the same things at the same time.
(d) Tiny and Sparky are presented as two individuals who have no similarities or connection to each other.

5. What limitation does the expedition party have that is particular to their voyage?
(a) They have only a small crew compared to other voyages with dozens of crew on board.
(b) They can only sail in the morning because their light is not as powerful as those of the other voyages.
(c) They only have six weeks to complete their entire voyage, on top of constraints presented by the tides.
(d) They have a limited supply of food and drinks, and medicine, too.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the expedition party find when they finally landed on the shores of San Jose Island?

2. What do Indians do in Espiritu Santo Island?

3. Where does the expedition team go the next morning, March 13?

4. What is interesting about the bonito and other fish that caught Steinbeck and Ricketts' attention?

5. What do members of the party feel when they are the one manning the wheel?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are some examples of Steinbeck's personification of marine life?

2. How does Steinbeck compare staying on course at sea to achieving a goal in life?

3. What is Steinbeck's theory on the origin of the name of a certain place? What was the origin of Steinbeck's musings?

4. Tiny and Sparky are described as almost two halves of one person. Make some speculations on their appearance and characters in general.

5. What are the recordings in The Log from the Sea of Cortez? Enumerate as many as you can.

6. Describe Tex and make some assumptions on the way he looks.

7. What difference does this particular expedition have over the other travels? Why is this so?

8. Explain Steinbeck's theory on man's struggle for dominance. What is his theory on how one group never stays in power for a very long time?

9. Describe the activities of the expedition party on the eve of their departure. Speculate on the feelings of the team members on this particular night.

10. Explain Steinbeck's remark on the contrast between Tiny's reaction to the death of the sea turtle and that of a scientist's.

(see the answer keys)

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