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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 does Nuri Salameh worry might give him away to the workers passing under the Concorde?

2. What does Ahmed Rish guarantee Jacob Hausner and Benjamin Dobkin?

3. What does Peter Kahn see as his mission?

4. To whom had the hill above the airport belonged before the Six-Day War?

5. According to Psalms, what did the ancient Babylonians require of the captured Jews?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Golda Meir's quotation inspiring?

2. What leads Benjamin Dobkin to decide that the terrorists are "very clever fellows"?

3. What does the kheffiyah worn by Abdel Majid Jabari symbolize and why does it put him in danger?

4. How many civilizations overran Iraq in ancient history, and which did the worst destruction?

5. What other military group had Teddy Laskov belonged to before he fought for Israel, and why had he left it?

6. What similarities do the defenders see between themselves and those at Masada?

7. Why does Chaim Mazar hope that Isaac Burg, Benjamin Dobkin, and Miriam Bernstein are all dead?

8. As an Algerian in France, Nuri Salameh is a "stranger in a strange land." Do you think that situation makes a difference in his decision to obey Ahmed Rish and plant the bomb on the aircraft?

9. As Benjamin Dobkin watches the attackers advance, he thinks that he would give them a low grade on tactics. What do they do wrong?

10. What unusual defense strategies do the defenders develop as they wait for the second attack?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The hot desert wind has many names: Hamseen, Sharav, and Sherji. It has importance as a symbol to the Arabs and Israelis in this story as well as playing a physical part in the outcome of the story. In your essay, explain the effect of the wind on the minds and bodies of the characters.

Essay Topic 2

Shear-jashub's name, besides identifying him as Jewish, was originally given to the prophet Isaiah's son and has deep significance. Research the meaning of the name and in your essay discuss why you think DeMille selected it for this character.

Essay Topic 3

The quotation of scriptural prophecies create the impression that DeMille wants readers to see the characters in this story as part of Biblical prophecy. In your essay, analyze whether these characters see themselves as part of a long history or as isolated participants in a single event, alone and unsupported in the larger world. Use quotations from the story to substantiate your opinion.

(see the answer keys)

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