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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. Besides the commands of the voice, what does Joe rely on to keep him going?
(a) Simon.
(b) The glacier.
(c) His watch.
(d) The heat.

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

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

4. What do Richard and Simon spend a considerable amount of time searching for, but never find?
(a) Simon's passport.
(b) The map.
(c) Simon's money.
(d) Joe's money.

5. When Joe finally musters the courage to look down, what does he see in disbelief?
(a) The Prussik knot he had dropped while hanging above the crevasse.
(b) The corpse of an ancient iceman.
(c) A snow-covered floor.
(d) Another dead climber.

Short Answer Questions

1. Simon recalls that he wanted to see Bolivia before returning to London. What country does Joe want to see?

2. Who does Simon get extremely angry at during his last full day at base camp?

3. When Simon reaches base camp, what is the first thing he says to Richard?

4. When Richard returns to base camp, he informs Simon that Spinoza will arrive with the donkeys when?

5. In the opening scene of the chapter "Shadows in the Ice", Joe is convinced that he and his partner are going to die. What does Joe hope?

Short Essay Questions

1. While trying to reach base camp, what single thought springs Joe into action, but also holds the possibility of being the final death of him?

2. Why is Joe so worried about losing Simon's tracks?

3. While abseiling to the right of the wall over which Joe had tumbled, why does Simon suddenly stop his descent?

4. Joe tells of the most difficult thing he has ever done, and the best view he has ever seen. What are these?

5. When does the "voice" utter its first words of discouragement? What does it tell Joe?

6. What does Joe discover upon reaching the "bottom" of the crevasse?

7. After learning that the rope had been cut and after getting some sleep in the crevasse, what are Joe's thoughts about the end of his life?

8. When Simon sees the cliff over which Joe had been hanging, how does he feel?

9. Through the moraines, Joe's watch is a strong preoccupation. Besides pain, what is his obsession?

10. Before setting out across the moraines, what does Joe do with his Karrimat?

(see the answer keys)

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