Name ______Date ______
“Crossing the Great Divide” by Meriwether Lewis (text page 276)
“The Most Sublime Spectacle on Earth” by John Wesley Powell (text page 278)
Selection Test
Critical Reading
On the line, write the letter of the one best answer.
____ 1. The selection from Lewis’s journal focuses on
a. the reasons Lewis and Clark are making their journey across the continent.
b. the danger, beauty, and excitement of crossing the Great Divide.
c. the excitement of viewing the Grand Canyon for the first time.
d. Clark’s return with Charbono and the expedition’s relations with local tribes.
____ 2. Lewis most likely sent Shields to hunt because
a. food had to be replenished since it could not be easily preserved on the journey.
b. the expedition needed a certain type of food to offer its Native American guests.
c. Shields had nothing to do, and Lewis wanted to keep him busy.
d. Lewis himself was unskilled at hunting.
____ 3. From where was the expedition obtaining the horses described in the selection?
a. from Captain Clark’s party
b. from President Thomas Jefferson
c. from Shields, who hunted down the wild mustangs and rounded them up for
the expedition
d. from the Indians
____ 4. “We now formed our camp just below the junction of the forks on the Lard. side in
a level smooth bottom covered with a fine turf of greensward” is an example of
a. persuasive writing. c. descriptive writing.
b. fictional writing. d. biographical writing.
____ 5. According to the remark, “We now formed our camp just below the junction of the
forks,” the camp is probably
a. upstream, before the junction.
b. downstream, after the junction.
c. at the top of a cliff, beside the junction.
d. underground, beneath the junction.
____ 6. Lewis and Clark met with the Indians near the river in order to ______.
a. talk c. fish
b. trade d. fight
____ 7. Why did Lewis and Clark communicate with the Indians through Labuish,
Charbono, and Sah-ca-ga-we-ah?
a. Labuish, Charbono, and Sah-ca-ga-we-ah were the heads of the tribes with whom
Lewis and Clark were meeting.
b. Labuish, Charbono, and Sah-ca-ga-we-ah were able to speak officially for the
United States government, but Lewis and Clark could not.
c. Lewis and Clark did not speak the other Indians’ language, and Labuish,
Charbono, and Sah-ca-ga-we-ah did.
d. At the time, proper diplomacy dictated that a representative of the United States
government speak through a third party at all formal negotiations.
84 Formal Assessment © Prentice-Hall, Inc.
____ 8. Based on the details in Lewis’s journals, you can conclude that the preferred method
of travel for the Lewis and Clark expedition was
a. on horseback. c. in a wagon train.
b. by water. d. on foot.
____ 9. What chief emotion does the Grand Canyon inspire in Powell?
a. fear c. optimism
b. envy d. awe
____ 10. Based on the details in “The Most Sublime Spectacle on Earth,” the erosion in the
Grand Canyon seems to be caused primarily by ______.
a. water c. ice
b. wind d. heat
____ 11. According to Powell’s descriptions, what is the most striking visual feature of the
Grand Canyon’s walls?
a. texture c. erosion
b. color d. age
____ 12. Powell writes:
Pluck up Mt. Washington by the roots to the level of the sea and drop it headfirst
into the Grand Canyon, and the dam will not force its waters over the walls. Pluck
up the Blue Ridge and hurl it into the Grand Canyon, and it will not fill it.
How does this passage help the reader appreciate the Grand Canyon?
a. It helps the reader picture the location of the Grand Canyon.
b. It helps the reader picture the colors of the Grand Canyon.
c. It helps the reader picture the size of the Grand Canyon.
d. It helps the reader picture how Powell cleared a path for future explorers.
____ 13. Powell describes the walls of the Grand Canyon as follows:
The black gneiss below, the variegated quartzite, and the green or alcove
sandstone form the foundation for the mighty red wall. The banded sandstone
entablature is crowned by the tower limestone.
This description leads you to visualize the wall from
a. left to right. c. top to bottom.
b. near to far. d. bottom to top.
____ 14. What are the sources of most of the “music” that Powell describes in “The Most
Sublime Spectacle on Earth”?
a. animals and falling rocks c. rivers and creeks
b. clouds and wind d. campers singing
____ 15. What does Powell imply about the Grand Canyon when he writes that “language and
illustration combined must fail” to capture it?
a. The only way to appreciate the Grand Canyon is to be there.
b. Artists who seek to paint or draw the Grand Canyon should work independently
and not attempt to illustrate a writer’s words.
c. Early American writers and artists who traveled in the West were often not as
skilled in their craft as the writers and artists in the East.
d. Powell himself lacked the skills needed to describe or paint the canyon.
____ 16. Which passage best illustrates descriptive writing?
a. “This morning I arose very early and dispatched Drewyer and the Indian down
the river.”
b. “The heavens constitute a portion of the facade and mount into a vast dome from
wall to wall, spanning the Grand Canyon with empyrean blue.”
© Prentice-Hall, Inc. Great Divide/Sublime Spectacle 85
Unit 3: A Growing Nation
(1800–1870) c. “The wonders of the Grand Canyon cannot be adequately represented in symbols
of speech, nor by speech itself.”
d. “It is a region more difficult to traverse than the Alps or the Himalayas.”
Vocabulary and Grammar
On the line, write the letter of the one best answer.
____ 17. Which statement is false?
a. The words multifarious and multitudinous both contain a prefix meaning “many”
or “much.”
b. The words multifarious and multitudinous are both adjectives.
c. The words multifarious and multitudinous both imply a large number.
d. The words multifarious and multitudinous both imply diversity.
____ 18. Which statement is most likely true about a labyrinth?
a. It is easy to pass through, with no lines or planes of demarcation.
b. The exit is conspicuous.
c. Finding your way through it can be sublime and exhilarating.
d. It is one smooth surface that has never been excavated.
____ 19. Which statement below is true about the following passage?
a vast assemblage of self-willed clouds, faring here and there, intent upon
purposes hidden in their own breasts
a. It contains no participial phrases used as adjectives.
b. It contains just one participial phrase used as an adjective.
c. It contains two participial phrases used as adjectives.
d. It contains three participial phrases used as adjectives.
____ 20. What noun does the participial phrase in this sentence modify?
The Grand Canyon of the Colorado is a canyon composed of many canyons
a. Grand Canyon c. canyon
b. Colorado d. canyons
Essay Questions
21. In addition to exploring the territory gained in the Louisiana Purchase, Lewis and Clark
were to establish friendly relations with the Native Americans they met along the way.
Briefly explain why this was important. Include at least two reasons presented in
the selection.
22. As Powell, Lewis, and Clark explored new territories, they encountered many adventures
as well as discomforts and dangers. Do you think Powell or Lewis would look forward to
another journey? Write an essay describing some of the positive and negative experiences
the explorers encountered. Use examples from the text to predict whether or not they
would choose to make another exploration under similar conditions.
23. John Wesley Powell was a trained geologist, at one point a geology professor at a univer-sity.
A geologist is a scientist who studies the earth’s surface and a variety of things and
actions upon it, including soils, rocks, caves, bodies of water, and erosion of the earth’s
surface. Write an essay explaining how geology seems to have influenced Powell’s writing.
Use details from the selection to support your evaluation.
86 Formal Assessment © Prentice-Hall, Inc.