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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 wrong with the Wood Screw Pumps in the twenty-four pumping stations that pump water out of the city?

2. Darwin’s ideas regarding evolution were first known as what?

3. Where does Kolbert stay for her last night in Nevada?

4. Why is the Kaneohe Bay a prime location for studying and creating super coral?

5. Why are Kolbert and Gates’ plans to meet cancelled?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is extinction now an observable phenomenon?

2. What is the solution chosen for dealing with the Asian carp problem in and around Chicago?

3. What is the problem with Wood Screw Pumps?

4. What led to the introduction of non-native species to control pests?

5. When do the majority of scientists believe the Anthropocene Age began?

6. What is Van Oppen's relationship with her students?

7. How does Kolbert compare her stay at the Paris in Las Vegas to life for the pupfish in Devils Hole Jr.?

8. What problems has human domination over nature caused, according to Kolbert?

9. In what ways are those in the Chicago area trying to manage the carp problem?

10. What is William Lewis Manly's role in the discovery of Devils Hole?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Under a White Sky was in the process of being finished and published during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. How does Kolbert relate the pandemic to her book? What connections does she make between climate change and a pandemic? How has the world changed because of the pandemic? How does this help you relate to the changes scientists in this book predict about our world?

Essay Topic 2

The scientists and under a white sky into the wild chapter 3 focus on genetic modification as a way of bringing balance to the natural world. What are the reasons given by the scientists regarding the benefits of genetic modification? How does Colbert both agree and disagree with this? Based on the information you have received in this book, what are your thoughts on genetic modification and the survival of our planet? What questions or concerns do you have regarding protecting wildlife after reading into the wild chapter 3? How do these questions and concerns support Kolbert‘s purpose for writing this book?

Essay Topic 3

Kolbert uses both present tense and past tense throughout under a white sky. When does she use present tense and why? When does she use past tense and why? Does this change in tenses help the reader? Why or why not? And what other ways to Colbert try to take challenging information and make it more interesting and understanding for the reader?

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