View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What do the residents of Ersilia do?
(a) Tie strings around their trees.
(b) Build fantastic stringed instuments.
(c) Stretch strings from the corners of their houses.
(d) Hang strings from the their ceilings.

2. Polo says that Clarice is:
(a) The most normal city he's ever visited.
(b) The future capital of the empire.
(c) A city of madmen and silent children.
(d) A glorious city with a tormented history.

3. What is one of Khan's biggest worries regarding his empire?
(a) It will be crushed under its own weight.
(b) It will be stolen from him.
(c) Its people will grow disillusioned.
(d) It will be forgotten by the rest of the world.

4. When one listens to the ground in Argia, what does one hear?
(a) The sound of engines.
(b) Music.
(c) A bell ring.
(d) A door slam.

5. If a traveler to Thekla asks why the construction is never done, what answer will he hear?
(a) So that the destruction can't start.
(b) Nobody knows why.
(c) They are waiting for the architect to return.
(d) In order to confuse the spirits.

Short Answer Questions

1. What items from his travels does Polo spread at the feet of Khan in Chapter 8?

2. In Chapter 6, Polo claims that he's reached the point where, in the number of people he has known:

3. Octavia is full of:

4. The people in the city of Irene are:

5. Esmeralda is known as the city of what?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do the people of Beersheba regard the heavenly version of their city?

2. Leonia, the city that reinvents itself daily, is in danger of what?

3. In what significant way is Argia different from all other cities Polo describes?

4. What does Polo say to Khan when the emperor points out that he never speaks of Venice?

5. Describe the two sides of the city of Moriana.

6. What eventually happens to travelers who decide to stay in Phyllis to discover all of its secrets?

7. Why is it that someone arriving at Thekla will see very little of the city?

8. When people get lost in Eudoxia, what do they look at to find their bearings?

9. Describe Esmeralda, the city of water.

10. It's not always clear in the story if Khan is speaking to Polo or merely imagining a conversation, such as when he supposedly confronts Polo regarding Venice. Whether the conversation happened or was imagined, what does Khan accuse Polo of regarding Venice?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 777 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample