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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Khan tells Polo about his dreams of a city where the farewells from its harbor are what?
(a) Tearful but silent.
(b) Insincere.
(c) Indifferent.
(d) Joyous and celebratory.

2. Polo wants to inform the emperor how much darkness is out there by focusing on:
(a) Traitors and those who speak poison.
(b) The debauchery of each region.
(c) Small glimmers of light.
(d) Remnants of past glory.

3. What do the people of Zenobia imagine when asked to describe a happy life?
(a) Enough food on the table.
(b) A place where they are free to follow their interests.
(c) A good spouse and many children.
(d) A city like their own.

4. When Polo goes to Hypatia, what does he learn?
(a) The meaning of life.
(b) The nature of changing language.
(c) The essence of spiritual existence.
(d) The mathematics behind its architecture.

5. Which city is said to be between two deserts, one of sand and one of water?
(a) Isidora.
(b) Despina.
(c) Zaira.
(d) Diomira.

6. When he is quiet, what does Polo sometimes imagine?
(a) What life would be like had he not met the emperor.
(b) Answering the emperor's questions.
(c) Being in a far off land.
(d) Being in the emperor's shoes.

7. When Marco Polo meets with Kublai Khan, he:
(a) Requests money to be able to continue his travels.
(b) Is worried that Khan will not approve of his stories.
(c) Asks for a leadership position in the empire.
(d) Describes cities that he's visited during his travels.

8. In chapter 3, when the traveler and the emperor discuss a city Khan has imagined, what does Polo say about it?
(a) He explains to the emperor that this would be a very impractical city.
(b) It will one day serve as the capital of the empire.
(c) Polo urges Khan to begin building it in the spring.
(d) It is nameless and has no location, existing only as a dream does.

9. Why does Khan listen to Polo's stories so intently?
(a) He's looking for clues to help him better rule his empire.
(b) He will never have the chance to travel to all of these places.
(c) It stirs his imagination and gives him incentive to continue ruling.
(d) He is starved for entertainment.

10. This peninsular city can be reached by ship or camel, revealing itself to travelers by both land and sea:
(a) Tamara.
(b) Irma.
(c) Despina.
(d) Isaura.

11. The various depictions of Fedora show what?
(a) What the city looks like at different times of the year.
(b) How the city appeared at different junctures in history.
(c) An idealized version of the city.
(d) Particular sections of the city.

12. In Armilla, what is one likely to catch a glimpse of?
(a) Young women bathing in the many tubs and showers.
(b) Children flying colorful, dragon-shaped kites in the distance.
(c) Young boys fishing with their bare hands in the river.
(d) Prayer flags fluttering from rooftops.

13. Why was the city on pilings built so high off the ground?
(a) For protection against seasonal floods.
(b) Nobody remembers.
(c) Because of high tides.
(d) Because the previous ruler was mad.

14. As Kublai Khan listens to the reports of his envoys and tax collectors while walking through his garden, his messengers speak in languages that:
(a) They made up.
(b) He developed.
(c) He doesn't understand.
(d) Are understood only by members of royalty.

15. The "white city" described by Polo is:
(a) Surrounded by a tall, whitewashed wall.
(b) Built with seashells and white stones.
(c) Accessible by sea only.
(d) Based on the dream of many men.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Polo explain that Zemrude's form is based on?

2. After Khan sends Polo on many missions, Polo learns:

3. Where do the people of Isaura find water?

4. When Khan accuses Polo of lying about the state of his empire, what does Polo say?

5. Polo describes a city with two forms of religion. In one, the gods live in a subterranean lake. In the other, the gods live where?

(see the answer keys)

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