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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. In Hypatia, when Polo wants to see the sultan at the palace, who is he allowed to question instead?

2. Which of these is not a city described by Polo in Chapter 2?

3. By dissecting each city, what is Polo is trying to explain to Khan?

4. Someone traveling to Maurilia will be invited to what?

5. At Euphemia, how many different nations gather to trade?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Describe life in Eutropia, which is made up of many individual cities of equal size.

3. What is the significance of the large metal building located at the center of Fedora?

4. Located 80 miles northwest of Zenobia, what is the city of Euphemia like?

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

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

7. What does Polo not know about Armilla?

8. Why does Polo say that it is best to visit Diomira on a September evening?

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

10. Why does Kublai Khan listen to Marco Polo's fantastic stories about cities he's visited?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Polo plays with the concept of light and dark. Some cities have beautiful sides along with darker sides. Give examples of these, describing in detail both sides. Are the sides real or imagined? How do they complete the whole? What do you suppose are Polo's reasons for sharing both sides to the emperor? Explain your answers.

Essay Topic 2

Briefly compare and contrast the type of information Polo shares with Khan with what other messengers share with the emperor. Then, address the following questions:

1) What is the goal of Khan's messengers and advisers when they share reports with Khan?

2) What does Polo wish to convey to Khan? How do his storytelling goals differ from those of the other messengers?

3) In your opinion, who is sharing information that is most useful to the emperor--Polo or the other messengers? Why?

Essay Topic 3

Quite a few of Polo's descriptions reveal the condition of a city in its past, present, and future versions.

Part 1) How is the time line or chronology of a city illustrated by Polo's stories? Cite a few examples.

Part 2) What is the significance to Khan of showing him his cities through their chronology? What meaning or message is Polo trying to impart? What type of understanding does he hope the emperor will reach from this time line information?

(see the answer keys)

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