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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. Where did Macdonald's parents buy a house in 1976?

2. According to research scientist Jason Chapman, how many insects could pass over a square mile of English farmland in one month?

3. How does the author describe the color of chanterelles in "Sex, Death, Mushrooms"?

4. What did the author see flying in the air in "Ants"?

5. How high is the geyser field of El Tatio?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who did the author interview in "The Student's Tale"?

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

3. How does the author describe a column of flying ants?

4. What did a boyfriend show Macdonald in "Nothing Like a Pig," and how did Macdonald describe the creature?

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

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

7. Who is Nathalie Cabrol?

8. When did the author first see boxing hares, and what did she learn about them?

9. When does the author remember having visual disturbances with a migraine, and how did she handle them?

10. How does the author say that field guides need to be learned to read?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Genre is a means of classifying literature. What is the genre of the Vesper Flights? Why is it not biography?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

The author observed falcons nesting at an abandoned power station. Why did peregrine falcons begin nesting in cities and other urban areas? What did the change in habitat for their nests reveal about adaptation?

(see the answer keys)

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