View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What term did the Accountant General use when describing the people trying to cheat the government or seek bribes?
(a) Baksheesh.
(b) Commies.
(c) Layabouts.
(d) Blighters.

2. What American author did Theroux mention in describing Indians in Chapter 9?
(a) Mark Twain.
(b) Ralph Waldo Emerson.
(c) Harriet Beecher Stowe.
(d) Bret Harte.

3. Why did the Ceylonese dynamite the coral reefs.
(a) To make lime.
(b) To make artificial coral.
(c) To make tourist knick-knacks.
(d) To decorate aquariums with coral.

4. What was the topic of the three-day seminar attended by Theroux in Ceylon in Chapter 15?
(a) African literature.
(b) British Literature.
(c) American literature.
(d) American history.

5. What poem did Molesworth quote while waiting for Yugoslav officials to look over passenger papers in Chapter 2?
(a) The Faerie Queene.
(b) The Wasteland.
(c) Japperwocky.
(d) Slouching Towards Bethlehem.

Short Answer Questions

1. What was the tall, four-foot wide box found in the individual compartment in Chapter 9?

2. Why was Theroux disappointed when the train arrived at Lake Van in Chapter 3?

3. What was baksheesh?

4. At what French station did the train join the Orient Express?

5. What kind of jam did the Iranians eat that Theroux found disgusting?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why was the destruction of the coral reefs a perfect example of the improvidence of the Ceylonese?

2. Why did Theroux find it insane that people were attending an American literature conference in Ceylon?

3. Why had Sadik still not taken a pilgrimage to Mecca when he met Theroux in Chapter 4?

4. Why did Theroux have an early childhood fascination with train travel?

5. Why did Theroux think the Orient Express was used as the setting for many stories of criminal intrigues?

6. Why was Theroux fascinated by the taxi driver's offer of a prostitute in the Bay of Bengal?

7. How did Theroux describe the Australians he encountered on the trains?

8. Describe the Afghan prison conditions mentioned by Mr. Haq in Chapter 6.

9. Why was Theroux unwilling to explain his first impressions of India to Vishnua Bhardwaj, the Accountant General on the train to Simla?

10. What is ironic about the treatment of the young Indian man fleeing London's racism in Chapter 7?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,049 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample