1. What is used for a far nobler purpose at the end of Chapter 1?
(a) The natural resources found in Europe.
(b) The wealth of the countries that make up the European Union.
(c) The weaponry skills acquired in the late twentieth century.
(d) The software designed to simulate "celestial target practice."

2. What does the first images of Rama prove?
(a) The body of Rama is geometrically imperfect.
(b) Rama is too far away to see clearly.
(c) The color of Rama fluctuates from black to shades of gray to white.
(d) Rama is not a natural object.

3. How does the book describe the world's population at the end of the 21st century?
(a) The human race is facing extinction from natural disasters.
(b) The human race has spread from pole to pole.
(c) Cities in the northern hemisphere are sparsely populated.
(d) Europe is more densely populated than fifty years earlier.

4. When the Commander enters Rama, what does he see in the light of the flare?
(a) The landscape of an entire world.
(b) A small space station-like structure.
(c) A circular sea.
(d) A miniature sun, moon and stars painted on the ceiling.

5. What loss is so great that it was beyond all computation?
(a) The loss of beautiful dawns and sunsets all over the world.
(b) The loss of resources and skills acquired during the twentieth century.
(c) The loss of six hundred thousand people.
(d) The loss to art, to history, to science--and to the whole human race, for the rest of time.