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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Of what use are Polo's tales to the emperor?
(a) To keep him from getting depressed.
(b) To help him connect to distant places he will never see.
(c) To keep him calm and stable in light of financial troubles.
(d) To serve as nothing more than entertainment.

2. The people of Valdrada know their actions are repeated:
(a) By their descendents.
(b) In a parallel dimension.
(c) By actors performing in monthly plays.
(d) In the mirror image of the lake.

3. Polo says that each action in Valdrada is inverted in:
(a) Its mirror image.
(b) Its monthly plays.
(c) Another dimension.
(d) The future.

4. What city is found 80 miles northwest of Zenobia?
(a) Euphrates.
(b) Euphemia.
(c) Eureka.
(d) Eugenia.

5. Anastasia is described as being full of precious and mundane objects such as:
(a) Turquoise and tin.
(b) Silver and shells.
(c) Gold and sea stones.
(d) Onyx and agate.

6. Which city is said to be between two deserts, one of sand and one of water?
(a) Diomira.
(b) Despina.
(c) Zaira.
(d) Isidora.

7. The various depictions of Fedora show what?
(a) How the city appeared at different junctures in history.
(b) Particular sections of the city.
(c) An idealized version of the city.
(d) What the city looks like at different times of the year.

8. What do the people of Zenobia imagine when asked to describe a happy life?
(a) Enough food on the table.
(b) A good spouse and many children.
(c) A place where they are free to follow their interests.
(d) A city like their own.

9. When he is quiet, what does Polo sometimes imagine?
(a) Being in a far off land.
(b) Answering the emperor's questions.
(c) Being in the emperor's shoes.
(d) What life would be like had he not met the emperor.

10. At times, Polo and Khan sit quietly to:
(a) Wait for food to be brought to them.
(b) Allow the assistants to speak.
(c) Listen to the wind chimes.
(d) Ponder the conversation.

11. When Khan asks if he will finally be able to fully possess his empire after learning the meaning of all of Polo's symbols, the traveler replies that Khan:
(a) Will be esteemed by every man, woman, and child in the empire.
(b) Will be able to teach the symbols to his many children.
(c) Will reach a state of great enlightenment.
(d) Will then be an emblem among the emblems.

12. As Kublai Khan listens to the reports of his envoys and tax collectors while walking through his garden, his messengers speak in languages that:
(a) Are understood only by members of royalty.
(b) He doesn't understand.
(c) They made up.
(d) He developed.

13. Which of these is not a city described by Polo in Chapter 2?
(a) Maurilia.
(b) Euphemia.
(c) Zenobia.
(d) Kublai.

14. Why was the city on pilings built so high off the ground?
(a) Because of high tides.
(b) For protection against seasonal floods.
(c) Nobody remembers.
(d) Because the previous ruler was mad.

15. Once Polo is able to speak a language that Khan understands, he can:
(a) Be very precise in his descriptions.
(b) Be arrogant and disagreeable.
(c) Demand greater pay.
(d) Request to go on more voyages.

Short Answer Questions

1. When Khan accuses Polo of lying about the state of his empire, what does Polo say?

2. When Polo goes to Hypatia, what does he learn?

3. When one leaves Zenobia and travels for six days and seven nights, where would one end up?

4. Which city is described as a place where traitors are strung from lampposts and old men sit on docks, telling stories while mending fishing nets?

5. Why does Khan listen to Polo's stories so intently?

(see the answer keys)

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