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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 a particular riding skill of a gaucho?

2. How does Darwin make it to Monte Video and the Beagle?

3. Who does Darwin encounter in the village of Las Minas?

4. What does Darwin find in the area of Bahia Blanca?

5. What are the dates of Charles Darwin's life span?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Darwin write about a huge bird he kills up the Santa Cruz River?

2. Describe two species of birds Darwin locates after he finds the fossils.

3. What does Darwin write about how the gauchos break horses?

4. Who does Darwin encounter at Las Minas and how does he size them up?

5. Describe the problem with getting three boats up the Santa Cruz River.

6. Why is Darwin fascinated to find the flatworm in the mud around the salt lake?

7. How does Darwin surmise that animals similar to Old World animals ended up in the Americas?

8. At the Rio Negro, about 300 miles to the south of Maldonado, what is the evidence of political turmoil in South America?

9. Describe the rodents Darwin encounters outside Maldonado.

10. What does Darwin have to say about the Brazilian rain forest?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about trying different kinds of food. Using Darwin's experiences of eating things like puma meat and tree fungus, discuss how different cultures have different culinary habits. Include any experience you have had in trying a food you had never eaten before. Explain in your essay how adventurous you are (or are not) in trying unusual foods.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay comparing and contrasting the gaucho with the North American cowboy. In the contrast be sure to include the gaucho's use of the bola. Give your opinion as to which of the two you find most interesting.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay about the formation and beauty of atolls. In your essay discuss how they were formed, specifically noting the part that coral plays in the process. Express your feeling about the fragility of the coral reefs and the effects on them of pollution and global warming.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 878 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample