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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. When is the Bahia scheduled to sail?

2. It is theorized that ________ created all the creatures on the Galapagos Islands, so they had no need for transportation.

3. How does Mary Hepburn die?

4. To whom does Andrew MacIntosh reveal his real reason for flying Selena, Kazakh, and the Hiroguchis from Merida to Guayaquil?

5. Who claimed the Galapagos Islands in 1832?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Kazakh never bark or play with other dogs?

2. In Chapter 25, how is Hernando Cruz's case compared to that of Jesus Ortiz?

3. Why do blue-footed boobies dance the way they do in courtship?

4. What had Hernando Cruz planned to do to the Bahia if the trip was canceled?

5. What mystery in 1986 A.D. is discussed in Chapter 1?

6. Discuss the three examples the narrator uses to show how people can become independent from their parents.

7. Why does the narrator choose the Captain's head to get into in Chapter 23?

8. Why does Mary Hepburn believe she had a brain tumor in Chapter 7?

9. Describe the Hotel El Dorado.

10. Why does Siegfried von Kleist have no children?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Technology and robots are widely seen and used throughout the novel. In what ways has technology effected the characters in the novel? What dangers are there for a society which greatly depends on technology?

Essay Topic 2

Make a case for or against the following statement: "Culture and society is just something that humans do because it is programmed in their brains." Use the novel for evidence to support your case.

Essay Topic 3

The narrator, Leon Trout, states that all the sorrows of humankind are caused by "the only true villain in my story: the oversized human brain." Do you agree with his statement? Explain by using specific examples from the text.

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