View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Kolbert moves onto a visit to the Old River Control Auxiliary Structure located how many miles upriver of Baton Rouge?

2. When the United States won a case against the developer, Cappaert Enterprises, who took over the land?

3. In the beginning of Chapter 2, why does Kolbert fly in a small airplane?

4. After a week with Gates, how does Kolbert feel?

5. Why was Manly’s trip west end up so arduous?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why were Asian carp brought over to the U.S.?

2. What is amazing about coral reefs?

3. How did the indigenous people of the New Orleans area deal with flooding versus the first European settlers?

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

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

6. What is the reason for why the Chicago River was reversed?

7. How is an atoll formed?

8. How is extinction now an observable phenomenon?

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

10. What is the crime that was committed at Devils Hole?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Kolbert starts off Up in the Air Chapter 1 by mentioning a subscription she paid for that claimed, for a fee, they would scrub the buyer’s carbon emissions from the atmosphere. Would you have paid for such a service? Why or why not? Do you believe others, besides Kolbert, would pay for this service? Why or why not? What might this reveal about the majority of people?

Essay Topic 2

Kolbert mentions that most Australians she spoke to realize that saving the Great Barrier Reef is impossible, and they are hoping for saving an Okay Barrier Reef. What are your thoughts on this comment? How do you feel about a world of okay nature? What might this mean for mankind’s future?

Essay Topic 3

Kolbert says that clear signs of the Anthropocene age are increased radioactivity and rodents. In what ways does that show the influence of humans on the natural world? How has the world been negatively affected by this influence? How might this human influence also be considered a natural occurrence as it has been happening since mankind was first created? How might this support the idea that there is no absolutely natural world and that the world is full of genetically modified beings?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 998 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample