and Isabella that he had found Asia d

							                                      First Voyage/Virginia/Plymouth Quiz
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

____    1. What is the main reason that Columbus kept this journal?
           a. to pinpoint exact locations for future mapmakers
           b. to describe the expedition to his patrons
           c. to convince Ferdinand and Isabella that he had found Asia
           d. to convince others of the validity of Spain’s claims in the New World
____    2. Columbus’s journal helped his readers share his experiences by
           a. comparing his findings with familiar sights in Spain.
           b. estimating the value of each object he came across.
           c. embellishing his prose with highly poetic imagery and figurative language.
           d. identifying by name the places he had actually visited.
____    3. What was the first thing Columbus did after going ashore?
           a. He set out to explore the country.
           b. He attempted to find the inhabitants.
           c. He searched through the abandoned houses.
           d. He set fire to the native dwellings.
____    4. According to the journal, how did Columbus gain the confidence of the island’s natives?
           a. by overpowering them with weapons
           b. by showing respect for their homes and belongings
           c. by asking their advice about where to find gold
           d. by seeking to meet with their leader
____    5. Which of these passages most clearly shows that Columbus was writing for an audience he sought to impress?
           a. “We had no doubt that the people had fled in terror at our approach, as the house was
              completely furnished.”
           b. “A thousand different sorts of trees, with their fruit were to be met with, and of a
              wonderfully delicious odor.”
           c. “While we were in search of some good water we came upon a village of the natives about
              half a league from the place where the ships lay.”
           d. “It is my wish to fill all the water casks of the ships at this place, which being executed, I
              shall depart immediately.”
____    6. Why does Columbus take specimens of plants he comes across?
           a. He may need them on his return voyage.
           b. He wants to bring unknown plants back to Europe in order to judge their value.
           c. He is bent on robbing the natives of anything of value.
           d. He needs them as proof that he visited the lands he is describing.
____    7. Why does Columbus go to special pains to mention gold in the last part of the excerpt?
           a. He receives definite information on stores of gold on the island.
           b. He knows that his patrons are interested only in gold.
           c. The acquiring of riches is one of the main aims of his voyage.
           d. The natives he encounters have great stores of gold.
____   8. Which of these reasons does not help explain why journals can be unreliable?
          a. The writer may be writing to persuade an audience.
          b. The writer’s impressions color the telling of events.
          c. It is a record of personal reactions.
          d. It provides details that can only be supplied by an eyewitness.
____   9. What conclusion can be drawn from Columbus’s determination to take ten quintals of aloe back with him?
          a. He was determined to find valuable items of any kind.
          b. Aloe was treasured in Europe.
          c. His ships were too small to hold much cargo.
          d. Aloe is delightfully fragrant.
____ 10. What best describes Columbus’s purpose for writing?
         a. to amuse his friends and family with his stories
         b. to persuade Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand that his exploration was worth the money
         c. to pay homage to the Pope
         d. to convince the natives that he was friendly
____ 11. Which adjectives best describe Columbus’s attitude as revealed in the journal?
         a. cruel and tyrannical                        c. informative and acquisitive
         b. bored and greedy                            d. disappointed and unemotional
____ 12. Why did Columbus give the natives hawk’s bells and glass beads?
         a. because the natives demanded payment for their services
         b. because he wanted to flatter them before he tried to conquer them
         c. to get information about the gold
         d. to show them that he was friendly and wouldn’t hurt them
____ 13. When Columbus visits the Great Can in Guisay, what is his intent?
         a. to deliver letters from the King and Queen and to receive an answer
         b. to demand gold and other treasures
         c. to buy herbs and spices
         d. to bring back a large snakeskin
____ 14. Columbus comments on the shipping activity in other ports he plans to visit. Why do you think he mentions
         it?
         a. He wants to go on an exploration with people on those ships.
         b. He hopes to meet up with some old friends.
         c. He is making it clear that this area of the world is an important place to explore.
         d. He is trying to show that there is too much activity there already, and he should stop his
             exploration.
____ 15. What impression of the Americas does Columbus seem to be trying to convey?
         a. that the Americas are fully inhabited and shouldn’t be further explored
         b. that the Americas are a fertile land, ready to be explored
         c. that the Americas should only be appreciated for their beauty
         d. that the natives of the Americas are hostile and should be left alone
____ 16. In the excerpt from The General History of Virginia, John Smith hopes to encourage other English men and
         women to come to the New World by showing them
         a. the joys and difficulties of the voyage.
         b. the means by which the settlers overcame hardships.
         c. the customs of the Native Americans.
         d. the beauty of the New World.
____ 17. Which of these conditions does Smith show to be a major cause of the Jamestown settlers’ difficulties?
         a. The Native Americans refused to sell them food.
         b. Trade between England and the New World was slow.
         c. The voyage from England took much longer than expected.
         d. The settlers were under constant attack from Native Americans.
____ 18. Through his language, Smith conveys the idea that the new President is
         a. energetic.                                 c. tyrannical.
         b. brave.                                     d. weak.
____ 19. Which adjective best describes Smith’s impression of the Native Americans?
         a. childlike                                   c. devout
         b. uncivilized                                 d. benevolent
____ 20. According to Smith’s account, why do his captors spare his life after slaying his men?
         a. They are in awe of his apparent power.
         b. They need his help to defend their tribe.
         c. They want him to join their tribe.
         d. They fear retaliation.
____ 21. Why do you think that Smith wrote much of the selection in the third person?
         a. to make the account seem more objective
         b. so that he could reveal other people’s thoughts and experiences
         c. to show Christian humility
         d. to avoid boasting about his exploits
____ 22. In which of these passages does Smith most clearly use subjective language?
         a. “Some, no better than they should be, had plotted with the President.”
         b. “But when they departed, there remained neither tavern, beer house, nor place of relief.”
         c. “We were all ignorant and supposing to make our passage in two months.”
         d. “So to Jamestown with twelve guides Powhatan sent him.”
____ 23. If The General History of Virginia had been written by another settler, the most likely difference would be
         a. the attitude expressed toward Native Americans.
         b. the explanation of the food shortage.
         c. the portrayal of Smith’s personality and role.
         d. the description of the settlement after the sailors’ departure.
____ 24. Read this sentence:
               Then finding the Captain, as is said, that used the savage that was his guide as his shield (three of
               them being slain and divers others so galled), all the rest would not come near him.

           If you were breaking down the sentence and underlining only essential information, which of these portions
           would you underline?
           a. Then finding the Captain, as is said       c. divers others so galled
           b. three of them being slain                  d. all the rest would not come near him
____ 25. Which description best conveys Bradford’s attitude in this selection from Of Plymouth Plantation?
         a. despair at the endless suffering of his people
         b. faith in the workings of Divine Providence
         c. tolerance for the weaknesses of others
         d. suspicion of all those who are not Pilgrims
____ 26. In the selection from Of Plymouth Plantation, to what does the subheading “The Starving Time” refer?
         a. the period the Pilgrims spent in Holland before journeying to America
         b. the Pilgrims’ transatlantic crossing
         c. the days spent sailing from Cape Cod to Hudson’s River, seeking a landing site
         d. the Pilgrim’s first winter in the New World, especially January and February
____ 27. In calling Squanto “a special instrument sent of God,” Bradford demonstrates his personal conviction that
         a. Squanto will become a convert to Christianity.
         b. the Pilgrims would have survived without Squanto.
         c. it is important to forgive one’s enemies.
         d. the Pilgrims had God on their side.
____ 28. In Bradford’s account, the settlers’ attitude toward the Native Americans changes from
         a. respectful to disparaging.                     c. indifferent to cautious.
         b. friendly to antagonistic.                      d. suspicious to appreciative.
____ 29. The incidents Bradford describes are most strongly connected with Americans’ celebration of
         a. Labor Day.                                  c. Thanksgiving Day.
         b. Christmas Day.                              d. Independence Day (July 4th).
____ 30. Break down the sentences in the following passage:
                And of these, in the time of most distress, there was but six or seven sound persons who to their
                great commendations, be it spoken, spared no pains night or day, but with abundance of toil and
                hazard of their own health, fetched them wood, made them fires, dressed them meat, made their
                beds, washed their loathsome clothes, clothed and unclothed them.

           Which of the following statements best expresses the passage’s main idea?
           a. Six or seven people risked their own health to tend the sick.
           b. Six or seven people should receive great commendations.
           c. Six or seven people worked very hard and risked their health.
           d. Six or seven people washed the clothes of the sick.
____ 31. Which of the following were Bradford’s chief purposes in writing Of Plymouth Plantation?
               I.   to record the Pilgrims’ experiences in the New World
              II.   to encourage other Europeans to come to the New World
             III.   to express faith in the workings of Divine Providence
             IV.    to publish an interesting account and raise money for the Pilgrims

           a. I and II                                        c. I and III
           b. II and III                                      d. I, III, and IV