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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Joe reaches an open void while abseiling deep into the crevasse, and he struggles to continue. He compares the sensation to which experience?
(a) The moment before saying "yes" in a marriage ceremony.
(b) Riding a bike for the first time.
(c) Standing on a diving board and staring into the pool.
(d) Standing in the doorway of a plane, wearing a parachute.

2. Who does Simon get extremely angry at during his last full day at base camp?
(a) Gloria and Norma.
(b) Richard.
(c) The voice.
(d) Spinoza.

3. How does Joe get through the moraines?
(a) Scooting on his left side.
(b) Walking.
(c) Crawling.
(d) Hopping and falling.

4. While crawling through the crevasse section of the glacier, what does Joe frequently do?
(a) He vomits.
(b) He stands up to check the progress of his route.
(c) He bleats out obscenities.
(d) He digs bucket seats.

5. What does Joe land on when he falls into the crevasse?
(a) The bottom of the crevasse.
(b) An ice bridge.
(c) A cornice.
(d) A snow hole.

6. What does Joe see that makes him certain that he is going to get out of the crevasse?
(a) Signs of life.
(b) A beam of sunlight.
(c) A breeze.
(d) A note from Simon.

7. Simon recalls that he wanted to see Bolivia before returning to London. What country does Joe want to see?
(a) Ecuador.
(b) Tasmania.
(c) Peru.
(d) Bolivia.

8. When reaching the "floor" of the crevasse, Joe determines his depth to be...
(a) About 150 feet.
(b) About 100 feet.
(c) About 50 feet.
(d) Below sea level.

9. As he lowers himself deeper into the crevasse, what does Joe stare at?
(a) His feet.
(b) The ice screw.
(c) The blackness.
(d) The opening.

10. After Bomb Alley, what is Joe's next objective?
(a) The riverbed.
(b) The upper lake.
(c) The lower lake.
(d) Base camp.

11. What does Joe do to find out if Simon has fallen to his death?
(a) He taps their secret code on the ice wall.
(b) He calls him on the radio.
(c) He asks Richard.
(d) He pulls the rope.

12. What does Simon do with Joe's clothes?
(a) He gives them to Gloria and Norma.
(b) He puts them in a bag to give to Joe's parents.
(c) He burns them in the riverbed.
(d) He packs them with Joe's camera and diary.

13. While abseiling deeper into the crevasse, Joe is certain of two things. What are they?
(a) Simon is dead and will never be found.
(b) Simon is gone and will not return.
(c) Simon is alive and will come back for him.
(d) There is a way out of the crevasse and he will find it.

14. After his first night in a snow cave since exiting the crevasse, Joe awakens, screaming from a nightmare about the crevasse, in which he was reciting what?
(a) His vow of revenge.
(b) A pop song.
(c) A Shakespeare soliloquy.
(d) The climber's oath.

15. After reciting a soliloquy as a preoccupying game, Joe realizes what?
(a) That he is desperately thirsty.
(b) That he hates Shakespeare.
(c) That he's in a snow cave.
(d) That last night's storm is not over.

Short Answer Questions

1. Besides the commands of the voice, what does Joe rely on to keep him going?

2. At seven o'clock on the eve of their departure from base camp, Simon and Richard hear a strange cry in the distance. What does Richard suggest it is?

3. When Joe pulls on the rope in the crevasse, what happens?

4. Who narrates the chapter "Silent Witness"?

5. The morning after Simon cut the rope, he descends down the mountain. What does Simon believe to be Joe's fate?

(see the answer keys)

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