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

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

3. Where does the expedition party sail next on Easter Sunday?
(a) Out of the lagoon and to the next collecting stop south of Marcial Point.
(b) They finally sail to Cortez, Mexico.
(c) They leave La Paz and sail north to Tribecca.
(d) They return to Magdalene Bay because tex forgot the collections he had.

4. What observations does Steinbeck note as the party sails on to the Sea of Cortez?
(a) That they see fewer people and signs of human life as they are approaching the Sea of Cortez.
(b) That the children become more aggressive as they get nearer the Sea of Cortez.
(c) That the people become more tanned as they get nearer the Sea of Cortez.
(d) That there are more and more poeple they meet as they approach the Sea of Cortez.

5. Which statement best describes Concepcion Bay, the expedition's next destination?
(a) Schools of tuna amd swordfish can be found in the bay and leap all around them.
(b) Too many rocks can be found near the shore, which signals the unwillingness of the town to accept visitors.
(c) There is not marine life in the bay, and so the crew left hastily.
(d) There are so many jellyfish and sea anemone clearly seen from the deck of the boat.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why is the tide chart no longer usable?

2. What specific food does the crew fight about, leading them to decide to stop making it?

3. How does the expedition party feel about Puerto Refugio?

4. How long does Tex suffer through the diet exercise?

5. What does Steinbeck lament about that is in connection with persistence of beliefs and actual happenings?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the expedition party's experience with their camera equipment. What happens with the equipment and what resolutions are derived from their experience?

2. Briefly explain Steinbeck's feelings towards the whole expedition. Does he feel that the expedition has taught them anything, and is there any particular valuable lesson they have acquired from the trip, apart from scientific learnings?

3. Describe Steinbeck and Ricketts' encounter with the ranchers and vacationers, and their consequent big sheep-hunting expedition.

4. Describe the profile of the specimens the expedition party collects. Provide details about the group's interest in all of these specimens, as explained by Steinbeck himself.

5. Discuss Steinbeck's theory on how a harsh environment makes survivors out of its inhabitants, and how he came to this train of thought.

6. What does the expedition party encounter at the port of Guaymas? Explain their reactions to the situation.

7. Provide a description to how Steinbeck, Ricketts and the crew do the labeling and sorting of their collected specimen.

8. Discuss the theories and examples presented by members of the expedition team on how persistence of beliefs of mind can overcome actual reality.

9. Sparky and Tiny are always anxious to spend some time in the towns, which they are unable to do in Santa Rosalia. Give probable reasons as to why the two are always looking forward to spending some time in the towns.

10. Describe the strange experience the group has with the Americans and the Mexicans they encounter in Angeles Bay.

(see the answer keys)

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