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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 does the author describe the Mexicans and Americans that they meet in Angeles Bay?
(a) They claim to be friends of Tiny and Sparky and insisted on joining them.
(b) They all wear straw hats and Hawaiian shirts.
(c) They claim to be fishing but seem overly interested in what the expedition is doing and when they are leaving.
(d) They are easily identifiable from the tattoo that they have on their arm.

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

3. What does Sparky accidentally do on April 3?
(a) He harpoons a stingray.
(b) He harpoons a cat.
(c) He harpoons a dog.
(d) He harpoons a bat.

4. What little surprise does the crew find in the seemingly uninteresting beach?
(a) A treasure map buried in the sand, which indicates that a treasure can be found in the Sea of Cortez.
(b) A large treasure chest that contains jewels.
(c) A large school of tiny fish comes in and make a hissing noise in the water all around them.
(d) A group of rattlesnakes which follow them wherever they go.

5. Why does the party chose not to dock in Guaymas and instead anchor in a nearby bay?
(a) The port fees are high because it is late in the night and they do not want to pay the fees.
(b) They see more marine life in the nearby bay than in Guaymas.
(c) They do not want the town to know that they have arrived.
(d) They are suspicious of a man they see walking along the port.

Short Answer Questions

1. How is Guaymas different from the other towns they have been in?

2. What are the freshwater species that are eaten locally, and collected by the expedition party on March 30?

3. On March 31, almost three weeks ate sea, what observation does Steinbeck make regarding the collections they have acquired so far?

4. How does Tiny spend his time on the island of Tiburon?

5. What observation do Steinbeck and Ricketts have regarding the marine life in Coronado Island and Monterey Bay?

Short Essay Questions

1. Near Guaymas, the crew feel a little contempt over the fact that the fishermen they see are too spotless in their white outfits. Explain briefly the circumstances and why the crew feel such contempt.

2. This particular section when the expedition party are near Guaymas and see these spotless fishermen is dated Aprill 22, which proves to be erratic. Give probable explanations to the error in date.

3. At the port city of Laredo, the members of the expedition team serve as merriment to the local girls. Speculate on the reasons on why this is so and give probable explanations to this happening.

4. Steinbeck and Ricketts willingly accept the offer to go on a big sheep-hunting expedition even though it is apparent that they do not have the desires to hunt any creature. Give a probable explanation as to why the two readily agreed to the invitation in the first place.

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

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

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

8. Describe how life in the Western Flyer becomes by the end of March. How does it chang compared when they first sailed to sea?

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

10. Explain Steinbeck's thoughts on the wastage of food witnesses together with Ricketts on the Japanese dredge boats.

(see the answer keys)

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