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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. How long could the author ride on a horse before her allergies got too severe to continue riding?
(a) 30 minutes.
(b) 20 minutes.
(c) 25 minutes.
(d) 5 minutes.

2. In "The Observatory," what type of swans did the author observe?
(a) Coscoroba.
(b) Black-necked and black.
(c) Mute.
(d) Whopper and Bewick's.

3. Which of the author's relatives was distressed by storms because of the reminder of the Blitz?
(a) Grandfather.
(b) Grandmother.
(c) Great-uncle.
(d) Aunt.

4. In "The Falcon and the Tower," how many breeding pairs of peregrines were in New York City?
(a) 22.
(b) About 20.
(c) Around 15.
(d) 31.

5. What does Macdonald say that swifts weigh?
(a) About 40 grams.
(b) Around 50 grams.
(c) 35 grams.
(d) 45 grams.

Short Answer Questions

1. In the mid-1970s, what trees did the author watch with her mother being torn up and burned?

2. In "A Handful of Corn," what creatures did the author's neighbor, Mrs. Leslie-Smith, entice to her garden with cookies?

3. In "The Observatory," how long did the author sit with a swan?

4. How many beakfuls of mud might it take a Martin to build a nest?

5. In winter, where do European swifts spend a few month in winter?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where were peregrine falcons nesting in "The Falcon and the Tower"?

2. What did the author search for in a disused chalk quarry?

3. Why do swans flock to the Welney Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust reserve in the winter?

4. What encounter did Macdonald have with a swan at the Jesus Lock?

5. What did David Lack discover when working during the war on the early-warning chain of coast-watching radar stations?

6. How does Macdonald compare waiting for a storm and waiting for other things in "Storm"?

7. In "Storm," what could the author see as she drove on the M25?

8. Who was Maxwell Knight?

9. How were elephant seals involved in a project studying climate change in West Antarctica?

10. What were the nestboxes like that Macdonald ordered for house martins?

(see the answer keys)

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