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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What do the Rama Committee members want to find evidence, or lack thereof, on Rama?

2. Why does Sergeant Barns throw out the Resolution's anchor?

3. In Chapter 28, who is Jimmy being compared to?

4. What maneuver is Jimmy unsure of how to perform with Dragonfly?

5. Why does Hub Control monitor Jimmy's altitude?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are some of the ways that are considered to rescue Jimmy Pak?

2. Why did the Commander delay explaining the method they were going to use to Jimmy?

3. Why did Jimmy Pak approach the crab-like creature?

4. Why is Jimmy Pak able to remain calm as he struggles to land the sky-bike?

5. Describe the first creature that is encountered on Rama.

6. Commander Norton speculates about the origin of the lights on Rama. What are some of his theories?

7. Why is it the case that some planets in the solar system are not represented in the United Planets?

8. Describe the flower that Jimmy Pak finds on Rama.

9. Why does Jerry Kirchoff make facetious comments to Norton and Rousseau in Chapters 36 and 37?

10. According to Chapter 23, why is Ravi McAndrews considered one of the last people on the Endeavour to normally engage in a technical discussion?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Captain Norton has two wives living on two worlds. These women never appear in the book but their existence provides an important contribution to the book. Why did the author include letters to the wives in this book and how do these letters and the existence of these women serve the writing of the book?

Essay Topic 2

People in power are sometimes accused of seeing the small picture at the expense of the big picture and may make decisions that are good for a small number of people or for the short run and are bad for humans in general or for the long term. Who follows this pattern in the book, or the opposite pattern? Give one example of each type of behavior and compare and contrast their actions. Be sure to follow their pattern of behavior from the beginning to the end of the book and show if they learned anything, or are likely to have learned anything, based on the events in the story.

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast the expectations that the Rama Committee has for the origins, age, and findings for Rama versus the reality. How are they the same? How are they different?

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