Quick Review Flashcards - Click to flip and test your knowledge!
Question
What physical characteristic allowed Sven Olsen to easily qualify for the weight bonus required for space travel?
Answer
He was a wiry little fellow weighing less than $150$ pounds.
Question
In the story 'Feathered Friend', what was Sven Olsen's specific job on the space station construction team?
Answer
He was a construction man who collected floating girders and fused them together.
Question
Term: Girders
Answer
Definition: Long, thick pieces of steel or concrete used to support a large structure.
Question
Sven's team managed girders in a 'three-dimensional ballet' because they were working in _____.
Answer
Free fall (zero gravity)
Question
Term: Dovetailed
Answer
Definition: Fitted together precisely.
Question
Term: Garbs
Answer
Definition: Clothing of a special or specific kind.
Question
Why did the narrator conclude that Sven Olsen's choice of a canary as a pet was 'sensible' for a space station?
Answer
The bird weighed almost nothing, ate very little, and was not bothered by the lack of gravity.
Question
Where was the narrator when he first became aware that Claribel the canary was aboard the station?
Answer
He was in his office (cubbyhole) checking technical stores.
Question
What sound did the narrator initially mistake for an intercom announcement before seeing Claribel?
Answer
A long and involved musical whistle.
Question
The narrator hit his head on a _____ when he was startled by Claribel's whistle.
Answer
Angle beam
Question
How did Claribel move through the air when the narrator first observed her?
Answer
She hung motionless like a hummingbird with folded wings and performed a backward loop.
Question
How did Sven Olsen manage to bring Claribel onto the space station?
Answer
He smuggled her up from Earth on a ferry after his leave.
Question
Aside from companionship, what was Sven's stated scientific reason for bringing a bird to space?
Answer
He wanted to see how a bird would operate in zero gravity while still using its wings.
Question
Where did the crew hide Claribel when VIPs from Earth visited the space station?
Answer
In ventilating shafts and storage bulkheads.
Question
Term: Bulkheads
Answer
Definition: Dividing walls or barriers between separate compartments in a craft.
Question
Term: Ventilating shafts
Answer
Definition: Passageways or ducts that allow fresh air into a closed space.
Question
How did the crew describe the typical sleep requirements of people living in space?
Answer
They needed very little sleep compared to life on Earth.
Question
What symptoms did the narrator wake up with on the morning of the air quality crisis?
Answer
He had a nagging headache and felt sluggish or half-awake.
Question
Term: Nagging
Answer
Definition: Persistently painful or annoying.
Question
What was the first clue that Claribel was missing on the morning of the crisis?
Answer
She did not wake Sven up, and there was a vacant seat at breakfast.
Question
Who served as the space station's cook-doctor-dietitian?
Answer
Jock Duncan
Question
How did Sven find Claribel when she first 'passed out'?
Answer
As a tiny bundle of yellow feathers with two clenched claws sticking into the air.
Question
What immediate treatment did the crew give Claribel to revive her?
Answer
They gave her a shot of oxygen using a face mask as an oxygen tent.
Question
What happened immediately after Claribel was revived with oxygen and hopped onto Sven's finger?
Answer
She sang a series of trills and then promptly keeled over again.
Question
Term: Keeled over
Answer
Definition: Collapsed or fainted.
Question
What historical parallel did the narrator recall to explain why Claribel had fainted?
Answer
Miners used to carry canaries underground to warn them of dangerous gases.
Question
According to the narrator, why was the air bad even though the alarms did not go off?
Answer
The first alarm circuit failed during an eclipse, and the second was not yet connected.
Question
What celestial event caused part of the air purifier to freeze up?
Answer
A rare eclipse caused by the Earth's shadow.
Question
Term: Inexplicable
Answer
Definition: Unable to be explained or accounted for.
Question
What does the narrator mean by saying they were 'doubly safeguarded' at the end of the story?
Answer
They had electronic engineering and the presence of a canary to detect air failures.
Question
Vocabulary: R _ G _ L _ T _ _ N
Answer
Regulation (an official rule controlling how something is done).
Question
Vocabulary: F _ R B _ D
Answer
Forbid (to not allow something).
Question
Vocabulary: F _ S _
Answer
Fuse (to join or blend to form a single entity).
Question
Vocabulary: _ B R _ P T L Y
Answer
Abruptly (suddenly).
Question
Vocabulary: C _ N F _ S S
Answer
Confess (to admit one's mistake).
Question
Vocabulary: D _ _ T _ T _ _ N
Answer
Dietitian (a person who advises on healthy eating).
Question
What is a 'merged word' (or portmanteau)?
Answer
A word made by combining parts of two different words.
Question
What two words are merged to create the term 'intercom'?
Answer
Internal and Communication.
Question
Merged Word: Brunch
Answer
Definition: A meal eaten between breakfast and lunch hours (Breakfast + Lunch).
Question
Merged Word: Motel
Answer
Definition: A hotel for motorists (Motor + Hotel).
Question
Merged Word: Smog
Answer
Definition: A mixture of smoke and atmospheric fog (Smoke + Fog).
Question
Merged Word: Sitcom
Answer
Definition: A television series involving characters in amusing situations (Situation + Comedy).
Question
In English grammar, which modal verb is used to provide information about future events or discuss certainties?
Answer
Will
Question
Under what conditions is the Simple Present Tense used to refer to the future?
Answer
When the action is part of a regular schedule or a planned arrangement.
Question
Which verb tense is used for future actions that are personal arrangements or fixed plans?
Answer
Present Progressive Tense (e.g., 'I am meeting him tomorrow').
Question
Term: Wiry
Answer
Definition: Thin but strong.
Question
Term: Assorted
Answer
Definition: Consisting of various types mixed together.
Question
Term: Handiwork
Answer
Definition: Something created by a person's own skill or work.
Question
Term: Wits
Answer
Definition: The ability to think quickly.
Question
Term: Sheepish
Answer
Definition: Feeling or showing embarrassment from shame or a lack of self-confidence.
Question
According to the text, why did Sven not confess to owning Claribel for several days?
Answer
He was waiting to see if he would get in trouble, but by then she had become a general pet.
Question
The narrator's brain felt _____ on the morning of the accident, making it hard to think clearly.
Answer
Sluggish
Question
What did the crew pass around 'like a pipe of peace' while waiting for the engineer to check the air?
Answer
An oxygen bottle.
Question
What was the estimated value of the chemical and electronic engineering that 'let down' the crew?
Answer
Half a million dollars.
Question
Adjective Collocation: _____ silence
Answer
Hushed
Question
Adjective Collocation: _____ expression
Answer
Sheepish
Question
Adjective Collocation: _____ worry
Answer
Nagging
Question
Adjective Collocation: _____ path
Answer
Narrow
Question
Adjective Collocation: _____ memories
Answer
Vague
Question
Adjective Collocation: _____ reason
Answer
Inexplicable