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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. Einstein said:
(a) Knowledge comes from man. Man provides the hypotheses.
(b) The number of rational hypotheses that can explain any given phenomenon is infinite, increasing as more are tested.
(c) Scientific knowledge comes from nature. Nature provides the hypotheses.
(d) Knowledge comes from intuition, resting on sympathetic understanding of experience.

2. The Narrator characterized the college as a "teaching college" by which he meant
(a) that only those who truly enjoyed teaching worked there since the college did not require research.
(b) the college was designed to prepare students to be teachers in schools and colleges.
(c) the professors taught the graduate students to teach, but stayed really busy teaching the grad students.
(d) the professors were burned out with teaching so many classes and never had time for research or contemplation.

3. A priori knowledge is an idea that was proposed by
(a) Northrop.
(b) Copernicus.
(c) Kant.
(d) Hume.

4. Who suffered the most from Phaedrus' isolation?
(a) his parents
(b) his brothers and sister
(c) his son
(d) his wife and family

5. In his teaching, an essay was to be developed from the basis of
(a) elementary, rational thought.
(b) elementary stimulus-response theory.
(c) following a pattern.
(d) elementary logic.

Short Answer Questions

1. Secondary roads are preferred by the Narrator because

2. The building where Phaedrus taught was

3. The parts of a motorcycle form a

4. Riding in a car is different from riding on a motorcycle because

5. Traveling by motorcycle is unique because

Short Essay Questions

1. All through chapter 18, Chris pushes himself to keep climbing and to do it at a fairly good rate even though this was his very first mountain climb or even hike into mountains. What was motivating him and why?

2. The Narrator talks about the set of boxes which define the components of a motorcycle. If you start at the top with "motorcycle" and work to the next level, you have "components" and "functions;" at the next level "components" are divided into "power assembly" and "running assembly." Where else do we find such hierarchies? Give examples of this pyramidal structure of hierarchical organization charts in business, science, and government. Can you think of others?

3. How do the DeWeeses respond to seeing the Narrator again? What are their actions and reactions? What are their emotions and thoughts?

4. How did Phaedrus stimulate students to think for themselves?

5. The book has an Afterword (chapter 33). In it the author tells how Chris was brutally murdered at age 22 and that the author now has a young daughter. How has she helped to put his life "back in perspective again"? What is that perspective? (refer to chapters 24 and 25 also)

6. Falling rock signals the aging and crumbling of the mountain. These small rockfalls serve as warnings. The Narrator, unlike Phaedrus, is able to heed warnings. How does the Narrator heed the warnings both physically and psychologically at this time?

7. What was the Narrator attempting to accomplish when he ferried the backpacks and when he re-packed the backpacks? Do you think he accomplished what he attempted?

8. The Narrator says that the ghost Phaedrus pursued appeared incoherent and meaningless, causing the most normal of everyday acts to seem slightly mad. What everyday assumptions and purposes caused this?

9. In what ways is the phrase "to travel is better than to arrive" appropriate to the Narrator's trip to Bozeman?

10. The Narrator seems to be descending into an abyss as he relates the details of Phaedrus' descent into a full mental breakdown. Why do you think he quit attending the class with the Chairman and then quit teaching his own classes?

(see the answer keys)

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