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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 is the best description of the General's servant's clothing?
(a) He is wearing an expensive suit.
(b) He is dressed in a butler's uniform.
(c) He is in a military uniform.
(d) He is dressed like a hunter.

2. As Rainsford begins to walk along the cliffside, what does he notice in the jungle?
(a) That various traps have been set and that some are sprung.
(b) Signs of a large animal having been hunted and killed.
(c) A fire burning somewhere deep in the jungle.
(d) Signs that the island is inhabited by many dangerous animals.

3. How does Rainsford end up alone on deck?
(a) The captain calls his partner below deck.
(b) He and his partner argue, and his partner doesn't want to be around him for a while.
(c) His partner goes below deck to fetch a map to show Rainsford.
(d) His partner goes below deck to sleep.

4. What is Zaroff's response to Rainsford's arrival?
(a) He seems confused and changes his mind twice about what to do with Rainsford.
(b) He is pleased to have company and gives Rainsford a tour of the house.
(c) He is welcoming and invites him to dinner.
(d) He seems suspicious and initially locks Rainsford in a bedroom.

5. In what region is the island located?
(a) Off the coast of Africa.
(b) Off the coast of Ecuador.
(c) The South Pacific.
(d) The Caribbean.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Rainsford stand up on the ship's rail?

2. What does Zaroff imply he was afraid of when he realized that hunting had begun to bore him?

3. What makes the General's servant intimidating when he first opens the door?

4. What is unusual about the door knocker on Zaroff's house?

5. On page 1, the narrator says that the night "was palpable as it pressed its thick warm blackness in upon the yacht." What does "palpable" mean in this context?

Short Essay Questions

1. What clues does Connell give right away that the relationship between Ivan and Zaroff developed in the military?

2. Describe the physical setting of Ship-Trap Island.

3. Describe the first encounter between Rainsford and Ivan.

4. What warning signs are present in Zaroff's banter about Cossacks?

5. Once he falls overboard, what does Rainsford do and what does it show about his character?

6. How does the discussion of the Cape buffalo introduce a possible meaning of the story's title?

7. What layers of irony are later revealed about Rainsford's suggestion that cannibals might live on Ship-Trap Island?

8. Describe Zaroff's dining room.

9. Describe General Zaroff's house.

10. Describe the early warning signs about Zaroff's island that Rainsford ignores.

(see the answer keys)

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