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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why are Simon's fingertips turning black?
(a) They are bruised.
(b) They are becoming frostbitten.
(c) They are stained from the rope.
(d) They are infected.

2. What does Joe say about bivouac sites?
(a) They are cold.
(b) They are hidden.
(c) He usually dislikes them.
(d) They are convenient.

3. What is the first thing Simon says to Joe after Joe tells him about the broken leg?
(a) 'I'll abseil down to you.'
(b) 'Are you sure it's broken?'
(c) 'Are you okay?'
(d) 'What happened?'

4. How does Joe describe Simon's eyes?
(a) Steel blue.
(b) Brown and mad.
(c) Blue and laughing.
(d) Bright green.

5. What do Norma and Gloria sell to Richard and Joe?
(a) Homemade cheese.
(b) Muslin bags.
(c) Two Donkeys.
(d) Goat's milk.

Short Answer Questions

1. Joe recalls an incident with climber Ian Whittaker in which country?

2. Where does Richard sleep on the way up to base camp?

3. What description does Joe lend to the sounds of icicles breaking away?

4. At the beginning of the chapter "On the Edge", on which side of Siula Grande are Joe and Simon descending?

5. How long do Joe and Simon expect to be gone on their climb of Siula Grande?

Short Essay Questions

1. When Joe and Simon start their ascent of the first ice wall on Siula Grande, what is Joe's attitude toward what they are doing?

2. In "Storm at the Summit", how does Joe get a bloody lip and a cracked tooth?

3. Describe the Peruvian family that lives in the huts.

4. Why do Simon and Joe avoid the issue of discussing their game plan after Joe's injury?

5. Joe describes the beginning of their practice climb on Yantauri as 'inauspicious' (p24). Why?

6. On page 65 in "On the Edge", Joe says, 'Funny how my anxiety [about Simon's frostbitten fingers] seemed to have more to do with whether he would be able to carry on climbing after we got down rather than concern for his injuries'. Why is this statement significant?

7. At the beginning of "Disaster", what is Joe's attitude?

8. In "Disaster", Joe says, 'In an instant an uncrossable gap had come between us and we were no longer a team working together.' In "The Final Choice", how has Joe's view changed?

9. What occurs to Joe at the beginning of "On the Edge"?

10. What worries Joe and Simon the most about the final part of the route to the summit?

(see the answer keys)

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