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. After a course on corals, Ruth Gates moved from where to Jamaica in 1985 to study corals and their symbionts?

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

3. Kolbert jumps to a day when she meets Alex Kolker, a professor at LSU, who has what as a side gig?

4. How many species are thought to live in reefs around the world?

5. How much land mass has the Isle de Jean Charles lost since the 1950s?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is amazing about coral reefs?

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

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

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

5. How is an atoll formed?

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

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

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

9. How is extinction now an observable phenomenon?

10. What have humans done to save species on the brink of extinction?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How important are the people Kolbert introduces? What do they all have in common, based on what Kolbert provides in Under a White Sky? What does Kolbert seem to think of them? Would other experts agree with her? Why or why not? How could the information she provides about them possibly sway readers' opinions regarding what is being done to care for the environment?

Essay Topic 2

Through the study of ice cores, it is learned that D-O events have taken place over the course of our planet's history. What are D-O events? When did they take place? How did they affect our world? How do they help scientists understand our future? How does reading about these events alter your understanding of the world we live in?

Essay Topic 3

Kolbert mentions that there are two different main beliefs for how long mankind has influenced the earth's climate. What are these two beliefs? With which hypothesis do you agree? Why? What details from the book can you use to support your position? In the end, does it matter which hypothesis you agree with? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,021 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample