Shipwreck Quiz

What is one reason the author includes "Just Imagine" (page 1) in the text?

• to help readers learn how quickly the sea freezes in Antarctica

• to help readers understand how the ice in Antarctica affects weather everywhere on Earth

• to help readers understand the harsh conditions in Antarctica and make them wonder how Shackleton and all his men survived

• to help readers understand why wind speed in Antarctica is so fast

What piece of text from "Just Imagine" best supports the answer?

• When winter descends... the seas surrounding the land begin to freeze at the terrifying rate of two square miles every minute...

• The ice never melts; it clings to the bottom of the world, spawning winds, storm, and weather that affect the whole planet.

• Cold air masses sliding down the sides of the glaciers speed up until they become winds of close to 200 mph.

• It is truly the most hostile environment this side of the moon. Just imagine yourself stranded in such a place.

Before Endurance’s expedition, Shackleton was already famous. Why?

• He was the first explorer to successfully reach the South Pole.

• He was the first explorer to successfully reach the North Pole.

• He was a famous author.

• He had made a previous unsuccessful attempt to be the first to reach the South Pole.

What detail from the text best supports the answer?

• On his triumphal return from that journey, he was rewarded with a knighthood for his efforts.

• Shackleton had been the first explorer to come within 100 miles of the South Pole.

• He was . . . a hero to thousands who read his thrilling book on his “Furthest South” expedition.

• Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton. . . had already been to the Antarctic twice before setting out on Endurance.

What was the goal of Endurance's expedition?

• be the first to reach Antarctica

• be the first to plant the British flag at the South Pole

• be the first to cross the continent of Antarctica from one side to the other

• be the first to live in Antarctica through the harsh winter

What detail from the text best supports the answer?

• “Queen Alexandra made a royal tour of inspection of Endurance and presented Shackleton. . . a Union Jack (a British flag)…”

• “The Aurora team would also trek inland, laying down stores of food for Shackleton’s group to pick up and use on their final run to the coast.”

• “Having crossed the Weddell Sea, Shackleton would make landfall at the best opportunity…”

• “The expedition’s main object, explained in the fund-raising brochure was ‘to cross the Antarctic from sea to sea, securing for the British flag the honor of being first carried across the South Polar Continent.’ ”

Boysledging rations were important because:

• they were the only food the men could carry with them

• they would prevent scurvy

• they were the only source of protein available

• they didn’t need to be cooked

Readers can infer that small icebergs are called growlers because:

• the small icebergs were the first ice to be encountered, and cause ships' crews to growl

• leopard seals often ride on them and growl all the while

• polar bears growl when they are stranded on them

• the small icebergs make a growling noise

What detail from the text best supports the answer?

• “Only three days later they met their first ice. . .”

• “. . . the water was dotted with ice floes on which fat, blinking seals basked in the sun.”

• “The ice had never before been seen so far north.”

• “large chunks called growlers that scraped and rumbled past the sides of the ship.”

How did Percy Blackborow come to be on board Endurance?

• He signed on with them at South Georgia.

• He signed on with them in London.

• He was a stowaway.

• He was sent by Queen Alexandra to keep an eye on Shackleton.