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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What amusing thing does Darwin witness outside of Monte Video?
(a) a small owl trying to catch an anaconda
(b) a rabbit hitching a rind on a crocodile
(c) a chicken trying to scare a fox
(d) a gaucho crossing a deep river with a reluctant horse

2. Where does Darwin spend ten weeks at the mouth of the Plata River?
(a) at a British outpost
(b) in a Brazilian fort
(c) a camp set up especially for him
(d) a small town named Maldonado

3. What marine creature does Darwin discover off of St. Domingo that he keeps in his cabin?
(a) a starfish
(b) a cuttlefish
(c) an octopus
(d) a sea slug

4. What happened at Sierra Tapalguen the night before Darwin and company arrive at the nearby outpost?
(a) an eclipse of the moon
(b) a tornado a mile wide
(c) a hailstorm with hail as large as apples
(d) an electrical storm that set the forest ablaze

5. What is a particular riding skill of a gaucho?
(a) going around a post at full gallop touching a finger to the post
(b) standing up in the saddle at full gallop
(c) riding on the underside of the horse to avoid detection
(d) riding for days without getting out of the saddle

6. What animal life does Darwin observe on the trail?
(a) pumas and wolves
(b) a rabbit-like creature called a bizcacha and a small owl
(c) llamas and ostriches
(d) mustangs and pheasants

7. What does Darwin see at Punta Alta?
(a) a skunk called a zorillo
(b) a man called horse
(c) a cat called gatito
(d) a squirrel called rocky

8. Who invites Darwin to visit an estate near Rio de Janeiro?
(a) a wealthy Brazilian
(b) an English landowner
(c) a Brazilian general
(d) a French explorer

9. What has Darwin observed on the ship that lets out silk into the wind and takes flight over the ocean?
(a) silkworms
(b) spiders
(c) beetles
(d) sea gulls

10. What are two important items used by the gauchos?
(a) the lazo (lasso) and the bola
(b) rifles and bows
(c) blow guns and spears
(d) knives and pistols

11. On the way to Santa Fe, what makes the road very difficult, especially for the many carts with huge wheels?
(a) occasional battles with natives
(b) rockslides off the mountains
(c) recent heavy rains
(d) very narrow trails in some places

12. What does Darwin do during his three-day stay in Socego?
(a) climbs trees
(b) catch up on his sleep
(c) go hungry
(d) collects insects within the forest

13. Who are York Minster, Jemmy Button and Fuegia Basket?
(a) Gauchos from Argentina
(b) Crewmen on the Beagle
(c) guides on Tierra del Fuego
(d) Natives of the Tierra del Fuego area

14. What is Darwin told about climatic events in the area?
(a) heatwaves and cold spells
(b) drought followed by floods
(c) rainfall changes in the course of rivers
(d) tidal waves and cyclones

15. Who does Darwin encounter in the village of Las Minas?
(a) the Incas
(b) the military
(c) some bandits
(d) the gauchos

Short Answer Questions

1. What is Capt. Fitz Roy's plan after anchoring at the mouth of the Santa Cruz River?

2. What does Darwin write that he found along the banks of the Santa Cruz River?

3. What does Darwin speculate died out on the continent long before the Spanish arrived?

4. Who are the people living on Tierra del Fuego?

5. What is the composition of Sierra de la Ventana?

(see the answer keys)

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