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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. When were the Cabinet of Curiosities a craze in Europe?

2. In Oregon, how much land did a honey fungus cover?

3. When did Macdonald and her parents leave Tekels Park?

4. How long might a queen of a common black ant live?

5. When was Cabrol the chief scientist on a team testing an experimental rover in the Atacama Desert?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does the author believe that science and literature are needed to document extinctions?

2. When were boars illegally dumped in the Forest of Dean, and how did the forest commission try to manage them?

3. How might birds make nests with human objects?

4. How did boars spread after being introducted to New Hampshire in the 1890s?

5. What did the author say about the "Tribute of Light" and its danger to birds?

6. What does the author say are the pros and cons of electronic field guides?

7. How long did the author have to ride out her migraines, and how did she finally get relief?

8. Where did the author and her parents live when she was five, in 1976, and what did the author love to explore there?

9. What were Wunderkammer and when were they popular?

10. With whom and how did the author hunt for mushrooms in "Sex, Death, Mushrooms"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Nature reserves are established to preserve habitats and wildlife. What did Macdonald write about visiting nature reserves? Why did she call them living museums? What benefits and disadvantages were there in establishing and maintaining nature reserves?

Essay Topic 2

Swifts were birds that could fly for months at a time. Why did the author compare swifts to aliens? When would swifts rise and fly high in the sky? Why were these called vesper flights? What was the purpose of vesper flights?

Essay Topic 3

Macdonald went for a walk with her brother and niece at Wicken Fen. Why did Macdonald’s niece think all the wildlife had been brought to the fen? Why did Macdonald comment that her niece had been raised in a green desert? How did that account for the girl’s surprise that animals could exist in the wild outside of zoos?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,011 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample