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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is so rare and elusive and blends into surroundings that people can easily miss seeing it, according to Schaller?

2. What two conditions make some of the sherpas and porters turn back and return home?

3. George Schaller is a famous ______________.

4. What does Schaller leave behind for Matthiessen?

5. What is the surprising contrast in scenery that Matthiessen's group sees on their way through the canyon?

Short Essay Questions

1. What makes Schaller furious because he is afraid of being stranded?

2. What does Matthiessen have hallucinations about that inspire him to pull out his book The Tibetan Book of the Dead?

3. What creature is Matthiessen interested in possibly seeing in the Himalayas that he discussed previously with a young biologist?

4. What happens to Matthiessen after he walks for 10 hours on the first day of their trek?

5. What does Matthiessen do while Schaller climbs the countryside, looking for bharal after they pass through Dunahi?

6. What is a Vedic belief that Matthiessen has great respect for and shares on his initial ascent up the mountain in Part 1?

7. What do Matthiessen and the party see as they hike up the mountain in high spirits that reminds them of their mortality?

8. What are the final arrangements that Matthiessen and Schaller make before they can start their trip?

9. What do Matthiessen and Schaller pass as they trudge up along the footpath in the mountains at the beginning of their journey?

10. What does a sherpa point out to Schaller while they take a break on the mountainside that makes Schaller happy?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

There are frequent delays due to inclement weather, government restriction, sickness, and change in porters. Matthiessen spends a lot of introspective time during these periods. Describe what he thinks about and does during these sporadic intervals along the journey.

Essay Topic 2

The four rhetorical modes of writing are exposition, argumentation, description, and narration. Which mode or modes are used in this book and how? List at least one example of each mode you find in the book. Explain what reason Matthiessen might have had for using it.

Essay Topic 3

Both Peter Matthiessen and George Schaller are the people this book focuses on the most.

Part 1) Compare Peter Matthiessen to George Schaller. How are these two individuals similar and how are they different?

Part 2) What inspirational purpose does Schaller's mission to Nepal ultimately offer Peter Matthiessen? Elaborate on this.

Part 3) The two men have ultimately two very different experiences. Why does this happen? Schaller encounters the snow leopard at the end, which makes him happy. Peter Matthiessen experiences something different, bonding with the sherpa Tukten who ultimately disappears. Share your opinion on these two experiences.

(see the answer keys)

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