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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 rabbit hitching a rind on a crocodile
(b) a chicken trying to scare a fox
(c) a small owl trying to catch an anaconda
(d) a gaucho crossing a deep river with a reluctant horse

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

3. How does the Santa Cruz River bed change as Darwin moves upstream?
(a) from sand and silt to polished granite
(b) from red clay to smooth stones
(c) from stones to black volcanic rock
(d) from stones to marshy sand

4. Where does Darwin see camphor, pepper, cinnamon and clove trees, along with breadfruit, jaca and mango?
(a) in a Brazilian marketplace
(b) the Botanical Garden
(c) deep in the Brazilian jungle
(d) the edge of the sea

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

6. What does the evening meal consist of at Don Juan Fuentes' house?
(a) barbecued goat and wine
(b) nothing but meat and water
(c) only a variety of vegetables
(d) fried eggs and flying fish

7. Why is a tree Darwin comes across famous among the natives?
(a) It is revered as an altar to a god called Walleechu.
(b) It bears a medicinal fruit.
(c) It can be seen for miles in any direction.
(d) It is the largest tree in South America.

8. How do Darwin and the soldiers make their way toward Buenos Aires?
(a) moving down and following the coastline
(b) moving from outpost to outpost
(c) mostly hiking over the mountains
(d) riding llamas over the mountains

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

10. What does Darwin see along the way where robbers hide and cattle can be lost?
(a) vast expanses of thistles
(b) thick copses
(c) dark hollows
(d) many rocky caves

11. Sailing away from Rio de Janeiro, what does Darwin see?
(a) hundreds of porpoises
(b) a pod of whales
(c) shark infested waters
(d) giant squid

12. How does Darwin speculate the craggy boulders around the mountains were moved?
(a) by volcanic eruptions
(b) by floating icebergs
(c) by meteors
(d) by seismic activity

13. At Botofogo Bay, what does Darwin find that interests him?
(a) many species of planaria (flatworms)
(b) strange flesh eating fish
(c) many species of birds
(d) new kinds of bees

14. What does Darwin learn about the ostrich?
(a) the ostrich swims long distances
(b) the ostrich lays six eggs at a time
(c) the ostrich builds nests of clay
(d) the ostrich mates only once in a lifetime

15. In addition to the volcanic formation of St. Domingo, what does Darwin notice about the island?
(a) evidence of diamond formations
(b) large mud floes
(c) strange stratas of slate
(d) a band of chalk

Short Answer Questions

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

2. What is the Casarita meaning little house builder?

3. What does Darwin find while exploring Cape de Verd?

4. What is a sporting way gauchos sometimes dismount?

5. What causes the different colored water Darwin sees after leaving Bahia?

(see the answer keys)

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