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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What question does Quammen say was debated for years after Darwin's theories were published?
(a) Whether he stole his work from Wallace.
(b) Whether he owed Wallace for the material he borrowed.
(c) Whether he acted honorably toward Wallace.
(d) Whether he developed the theory of evolution on his own.

2. How many pieces does Quammen ask the reader to imagine the rug being cut into?
(a) 12.
(b) 144.
(c) 6.
(d) 36.

3. When did Krakatau erupt?
(a) 1923.
(b) 1852.
(c) 1883.
(d) 1721.

4. What does Quammen interject into his historical narrative about ecosystem studies?
(a) Jokes.
(b) Personal stories.
(c) Apocalyptic visions.
(d) Sociological insights.

5. How does Quammen say islands are sometimes formed?
(a) Rise in sea level.
(b) Volcanic activity.
(c) Earthquakes.
(d) Seismic upthrust.

6. How does Quammen find fault with other scientists studying extinctions?
(a) By saying that their nostalgia clouds their findings.
(b) By saying that they have only been talking to each other.
(c) By saying that their fundamental premises were ungrounded.
(d) By saying that their vocabulary is insufficient to the problems.

7. When did the dodo go extinct?
(a) 17th century.
(b) 20th century.
(c) 19th century.
(d) 18th century.

8. What is the literary term that describes Quammen's addressing the reader directly?
(a) Apostrophe.
(b) Indirect discourse.
(c) Personification.
(d) Symbolism.

9. How would you describe Quammen's style?
(a) Linear.
(b) Pedantic.
(c) Disjointed.
(d) Patient and thorough.

10. How many species would an island of 4,000 square miles have, according to Quammen?
(a) 271.
(b) 400.
(c) 40.
(d) 88.

11. What was the special creation theory?
(a) The theory that the universe was created especially for man's comfort.
(b) The theory that species developed only the most aesthetic traits.
(c) The idea that God made each species for its environment.
(d) The theory that man was specifically created out of the best traits of the other animals.

12. Which scientist compared animals on islands with their counterparts on larger landmasses?
(a) Foster.
(b) Darwin.
(c) Quammen.
(d) Wallace.

13. When does a species' dispersal ability become important, according to Quammen?
(a) When an island loses all its life after a catastrophic event.
(b) When the species is isolated by mountain ranges or lakes.
(c) When a species is threatened by new predators.
(d) When a species is forced to find new food sources.

14. What is the tone of Quammen's writing in the opening chapter?
(a) Familiar.
(b) Bellicose.
(c) Agitated.
(d) Morose.

15. What does Quammen say Wallace developed in South America?
(a) A clear vision of the profits to be made in providing scientists with specimens.
(b) A sharp eye for different traits in insects.
(c) A deep devotion to the science of zoology.
(d) A terrifying vision of the destruction of ecosystems.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the Guam rail?

2. How many species of the animal Philip Darlington studied did an island of four square miles possess?

3. How long after the eruption did it take for 271 species to be counted at Krakatau?

4. What ecosystem does Wallace distinguish from ecosystems that developed in isolation?

5. What assumption does Quammen make at the end of his introductory chapter?

(see the answer keys)

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