The Green Morning — Important Questions

A vial of ammonia

Step 1: When Driscoll arrives on Mars and looks at the alien landscape, he faints because of the thin air. Step 2: The text says, 'Someone pushed a vial of ammonia to his nose and, coughing, he came round.' Step 3: Ammonia is a gas with a strong, unpleasant smell. It is used medically to revive people who have fainted. Step 4: The smell of ammonia acts as a strong stimulus that wakes a person up. Step 5: So the correct answer is a vial of ammonia.

Johnny Appleseed

Step 1: Driscoll explains his mission to himself while sitting by the fire. Step 2: He says, 'In school, they told a story about Johnny Appleseed walking across America planting apple trees.' Step 3: Johnny Appleseed was a real American folk hero known for planting apple trees across large parts of America. Step 4: Driscoll says he is doing 'more' than Johnny Appleseed – he is planting many types of trees to make air, not just apples for food. Step 5: This comparison helps us understand the scale and purpose of Driscoll's mission.

Thirty days (one month)

Step 1: The story mentions a specific time period several times. Step 2: Driscoll says, 'It had been a day, not unlike thirty others before it.' Step 3: Later, the text says, 'That had been thirty days ago and he had never glanced back.' Step 4: This means Driscoll had been working for thirty days, which is approximately one month. Step 5: During this time, the weather was very dry and he feared his seeds may not have sprouted at all.

It had grown larger as his lungs adapted to thin air

Step 1: Driscoll observes changes in his own body after a month on Mars. Step 2: The text says, 'He felt his rib-case. In thirty days, how it had grown.' Step 3: When air is thin, the body needs to take in more air to get enough oxygen. Step 4: Over time, the lungs expand and the rib cage grows to hold more air with each breath – this is the body's way of adapting. Step 5: This shows that the human body was physically changing to survive on Mars.