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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. After leaving the Santa Cruz River, where does the Beagle make its next stop?
(a) Baja California
(b) East Falkland Island
(c) Panama
(d) the Galapogas Islands

2. What is the sociological condition in Brazil that disturbs Darwin?
(a) anarchy
(b) slavery
(c) hegemony
(d) poverty

3. What does Darwin write that he found along the banks of the Santa Cruz River?
(a) prehistoric fossils
(b) kangaroo tracks
(c) nothing new or of great interest
(d) large apes

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

5. What do Darwin and his companions find at the Colorado River?
(a) a military encampment headed by General Rosas
(b) many fishing villages
(c) an abandoned military fort
(d) a ferry to get them to the other side

6. Why can two dead monkeys not be shaken out of a tree?
(a) the grip of their prehensile tails
(b) they are wedged in the branches
(c) the grip of their large hands
(d) they are held by other monkeys

7. What affirmation does Darwin make about the earth?
(a) life on earth is only near wateer
(b) every part of the world is habitable
(c) some of the earth is inhabitable
(d) there is no life in a salt lake bed

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

9. What are the two different styles Darwin uses in his journal?
(a) explorer and philosopher
(b) clergyman and scientist
(c) scientist and journalist
(d) biologist and engineer

10. What is Capt. Fitz Roy's plan after anchoring at the mouth of the Santa Cruz River?
(a) to take boats up the river as far as he can
(b) to anchor there for the winter
(c) to trade with natives who come in canoes
(d) to spend a few weeks fishing

11. Upon Darwin's return to Buenos Aires, what is going on?
(a) a revolution
(b) a celebration
(c) an international meeting
(d) a serious drought

12. Why does sea salt work better than lake salt as a preservative?
(a) Sea salt is purer than lake salt.
(b) Sea salt contains other chemicals that aid in preservation.
(c) Sea salt is more plentiful.
(d) Sea salt contains more sodium chloride.

13. Who takes Darwin and his gaucho companion to a mountain called the Sierra de la Ventana?
(a) a friendly native
(b) a local rancher
(c) a military guide
(d) a Portuguese priest

14. What do Darwin's discoveries cause him to think about?
(a) species that have become extinct
(b) the many different kins of one species
(c) species unknown in Europe
(d) the pre-historic geology

15. What is an important occupation for the gauchos?
(a) breaking horses
(b) carrying the mail
(c) trapping pumas
(d) making whisky

Short Answer Questions

1. What do the gauchos bring down using their bolas?

2. After leaving Las Minas, what does Darwin see near marble outcroppings?

3. What animal does Darwin find in small herds after arriving at Port Desire?

4. What is Darwin's assessment of the natives on Tierra del Fuego?

5. On the way to Santa Fe, what makes the road very difficult, especially for the many carts with huge wheels?

(see the answer keys)

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