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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 the stranger who buys Lyra food in the streets of London asks about her father, what does she say?

2. Lyra tells Iorek that the armor can be found where?

3. In London, when the pair is not socializing, Mrs. Coulter teaches Lyra

4. After Lord Asriel tells Lyra that he has received funding for his next expedition, she asks to go with him. What does he say?

5. Coram's daemon is a

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Lyra learn about eating liver when she dines with Mrs. Coulter at the Royal Arctic Institute?

2. What do John Faa and Farder Coram explain to Lyra about her parents?

3. Describe Lyra's and Lord Asriel's daemons.

4. Describe Lyra's encounter with a giant gray goose while she is on the deck of the ship looking at the Aurora.

5. Lord Asriel is describing to a group of Scholars the expedition he just took to the North. What were the goals of that expedition?

6. How does John Faa respond to the Gyptians when they want revenge against the Gobblers?

7. While Lyra travels on the narrow boat with the Gyptians, what type of work does she do for Ma Costa and the others?

8. Describe some of the conversation that takes place at Mrs. Coulter's cocktail party.

9. Lyra feels at home with the Gyptians and begins talking like them, but Ma tells her she is not Gyptian. Summarize the dialogue Lyra and Ma have on this matter.

10. Tony tells Lyra that the North is a dangerous location plagued by Nalkainens, Windsuckers, and Breathless Ones. Describe what these are, according to Tony.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast Lyra's feelings towards Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter at the start of the story, when she does not yet know they are her parents, and at the conclusion of the book, when she knows they are her parents and has seen what they are capable of. How do her feelings evolve? How do her feelings tear her apart? Despite her mixed feelings, what does Lyra become certain of?

Essay Topic 2

Even though Lord Asriel is Lyra's father, Iorek serves as her father figure.

1. Compare and contrast Lord Asriel and Iorek.

2. Which one is more of a father to Lyra? Why?

Essay Topic 3

Philip Pullman creates a world in which humans cannot live without their daemons, who serve as animal spirit guides. This world is also inhabited by armored bears. Explain how the human-animal interactions and relationships enhance the story. Would the effect have been the same if the daemons were people instead of animals? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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