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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. The various depictions of Fedora show what?

2. What creates connections between lives in Chloe?

3. If a traveler walks into Zemrude with his head held down by grief, how will he see the city?

4. In order to really understand the language of Hypatia, what must Polo do?

5. Polo tells Khan that he feels this way about the things he saw in Hypatia:

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Polo come to realize about language in Hypatia?

2. What is it about Anastasia that it would make slaves of men?

3. In what way is Tamara a city of perceptions and symbols?

4. Even though Zobeide, the white city, was made from the dreams of many men of different nationalities, how do strangers see the place?

5. Describe how the means of communication between Khan and Polo evolves.

6. What happens from time to time to the temporary part of the city of Sophronia?

7. Why would you say the cities described by Polo in Chapter 3 have an especially dreamy quality about them?

8. Khan and Polo each envision model cities. From these models, what are the two men able to deduce?

9. Describe the city of Zenobia.

10. What special ability does the mirror image of Valdrada possess?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

One of Polo's goals is to show the emperor that his cities cannot exist without connections holding each one together. Using examples from the book, explain how Polo elaborates on the theme of "connections within a city." Then, explain how his example of an arched stone bridge supports his premise that the cities are the sum of all of their connections.

Essay Topic 2

After hearing Polo tell so many varied, interesting stories reflecting the state of Khan's empire, what conclusion does the emperor reach? What has he been trying to learn all along from Polo's stories? Does he get the information he seeks? What does Khan decide or realize about his empire by the end of the book?

Essay Topic 3

Part 1) Compare and contrast the two characters in the story, Kublai Khan and Marco Polo. In what ways are they similar? How are they different?

Part 2) What kind of a relationship do Khan and Polo have? What does each learn from the other? Do the characters grow and develop in any way through their interactions with each other? If so, how? Cite examples from the book to support your answers.

(see the answer keys)

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