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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 does the expedition party do after sorting the specimen they have collected?
(a) They pack all the specimen in ice bags and send it back to the US.
(b) They go ashore and visit a local cantina in the town of San Lucas.
(c) They sell the specimen to the locals in San Lucas.
(d) They buy jewelry for their girlfriends and wives back at home.

2. What important part of history is happening at the time of the expedition?
(a) The Formula One Grand Prix.
(b) World War II.
(c) World War I.
(d) The Summer Olympics.

3. What do Tiny and Sparky do while they are on watch?
(a) Tiny plays the guitar while Sparky sings.
(b) They take turns scratching each other's back.
(c) They pay more attention to fishing than to the sailing of the ship.
(d) They play card games, making the boat sail the wrong way.

4. What do Steinbeck and Ricketts do to Tiny's prey?
(a) They cut the legs and collect them in a jar filled with water.
(b) They dissect it to learn what they can.
(c) They crack its shell and use it as soup bowls.
(d) They cut the meat and make a stew out of it.

5. How are Tiny and Sparky presented?
(a) Tiny and Sparky are presented as similar to husband and wives, always looking after each other, and attending to each other's needs.
(b) Tiny and Sparky are presented as mortal enemies, always fighting each other and having opposing views.
(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.

Short Answer Questions

1. There is a struggle for scraps and morsels of food.Who are the participants in the struggle?

2. What scientific testing does Steinbeck intend to do on the liquor?

3. Why are the particular dates chosen for an expedition?

4. What does Tiny do when they reach Magdalena Bay?

5. Who is the chef of the expedition?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Briefly explain how Steinbeck explains teleological and non-teleological thinking. Relate the two on the previous discussion about employment and unemployment.

3. Briefly discuss Steinbeck and Ricketts' interaction with a boy named Raul and give possible reasons why they willingly went with him.

4. Describe San Jose Island and how it appears to the expedition party. Give an explanation to the things that the party see when they try to go ashore in the island.

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

6. 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.

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

8. Steinbeck notices two men and a woman in Cabo San Lucas, paddling their canoe to the boat to do a little talking. He remarks that the indigenous people's sense of time is different from theirs. Describe the group that Steinbeck encounters, and what about their appearance invites such remarks from Steinbeck?

9. Briefly discuss Steinbeck's theory on the complications of western systems compared to the simplicity of some other cultures, such as the Indians'.

10. The expedition party reaches the town of San Lucas. Describe the town as mentioned by Steinbeck, and add your own theories on how the town looks and feels like.

(see the answer keys)

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