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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. How many years did it take the author to understand her premenstrual pattern?

2. How many times will the queen of a common black ant mate?

3. In "Sex, Death, Mushrooms," for how many years had the author gone with Nick on autumn mushroom hunts?

4. How old was Macdonald in 1976?

5. In "In Her Orbit," what company did Fredrik Rehnmark, a mechanical engineer, work for?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the author say that winter woods can teach her?

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

3. How might birds make nests with human objects?

4. What expedition did Macdonald go on with Nathalie Cabrol?

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

6. What type of collection did the author have when she was small?

7. Who is Nathalie Cabrol?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Birds migrate, usually to warmer climates. What migrations does the author describe that she witnessed? Why is migration such a dangerous endeavor?

Essay Topic 2

Why did the author become obsessed with a painting called Swan Upping at Cookham? What did the author communicate about the past and Brexit through the tradition of swan upping?

Essay Topic 3

The author bought nestboxes for house martins. Why did the author buy nestboxes? How did they help her and the martins? What did the nestboxes reveal about anthropomorphism?

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This section contains 844 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample