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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. Which character says, on page 31, "Instinct is no match for reason"?
(a) Nielsen.
(b) Zaroff.
(c) Ivan.
(d) Rainsford.

2. Into what two groups does Rainsford divide up the world?
(a) Thinkers and feelers.
(b) Hunters and hunted.
(c) Brave and cowardly.
(d) Strong and weak.

3. What does Zaroff say is the problem with ordinary big-game hunting?
(a) It wastes the life of an animal for no purpose.
(b) It does not take the feelings of the prey animal into account.
(c) There are too many other great hunters in the world.
(d) The prey animal has almost no chance of survival.

4. 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?
(a) Soft enough to be squeezed or manipulated.
(b) Dark and forbidding, gloomy.
(c) Warning of bad things to come.
(d) Able to be felt or touched.

5. Which is the best description of Rainsford when he is in the water?
(a) He thinks the situation is amusing at first but rapidly realizes that it is serious.
(b) He panics and then is embarrassed because he is well-known for his courage.
(c) He is shocked at first but stays calm and thinks his situation through.
(d) He is overconfident and thinks that nothing can harm him.

Short Answer Questions

1. When Rainsford introduces himself to the General's servant, what is the man's response?

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

3. What do Rainsford and his partner disagree about?

4. What reason does Whitney give Rainsford for the sailors' fear of the island?

5. How does Rainsford end up alone on deck?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Describe General Zaroff's house.

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

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

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

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

7. Describe the first encounter between Rainsford and Ivan.

8. What does Rainsford find in the jungle as he is walking toward Zaroff's house, and what does he conclude from it?

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

10. How does Rainsford end up falling overboard?

(see the answer keys)

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