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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 job has Derek taken in Chapter 4 of "The Lifecycle of Software Objects"?

2. According to the narrator of "What's Expected of Us," what begins to sink in after one has had a Predictor for a few days?

3. According to the narrator of "What's Expected of Us," what is compatible with determinism?

4. What irregularity occurs on the first day of the year in "Exhalation"?

5. With whom does Data Earth announce a merger at the start of Chapter 6 of "The Lifecycle of Software Objects"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What unauthorized usage troubles remaining owners in Chapter 4 of "The Lifecycle of Software Objects"?

2. In "Exhalation," what irregularity occurs on the first day of the year?

3. What have people come to expect from digients in Chapter 5 of "The Lifecycle of Software Objects"?

4. Why does Fuwaad travel through the Gate of Years? What does he discover?

5. Who is Bashaarat? What does he sell in his store?

6. What is the public's reaction to the narrator's discovery in "Exhalation"? How does the narrator react?

7. According to the narrator of "What's Expected of Us," on page 59, what happens after a person gets a Predictor?

8. What happens to some Predictor users? According to the narrator on page 59, why does this happen?

9. What happens in "The Tale of the Fortunate Rope-Maker"?

10. What does the reader learn about the beings as the story "Exhalation" opens on pages 37 and 38?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay explaining the significance of the title of this collection. How is Exhalation an appropriate title for this collection of stories? How does the title reflect the collection’s themes?

Essay Topic 2

Analyze the author’s choice to tell “The Great Silence” from the point of view of a parrot. How does viewing the action through the eyes of a parrot affect the story? How would the story be different if the story was told through a third-person narrator?

Essay Topic 3

Parents play an important role in several stories. Discuss the impact of parents on three characters from three different stories. Explain how each parent develops the plot and themes of the collection.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 909 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample