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

2. What is Eutropia composed of?

3. In chapter 3, when the traveler and the emperor discuss a city Khan has imagined, what does Polo say about it?

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

5. Where do the people of Isaura find water?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Explain why Polo says that one cannot forget the city of Zora.

3. When Khan and Polo pause in between their conversations, pondering the meaning of what's been said, what does each imagine or visualize?

4. How does Khan react upon growing impatient with Polo's stories?

5. How does the information provided to Khan by his other messengers differ from what Polo shares?

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

7. How does Polo describe the young women of Armilla?

8. What does Polo not know about Armilla?

9. In what way are the people of Chloe connected to each other?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

Essay Topic 2

Towards the end of the book, Khan's confusion regarding the state of his cities grows.

Part 1) How does Polo use chess and strategy in an attempt to help Khan understand how cities rise and fall?

Part 2) How is Khan's confusion reflected in the confusion represented by the cities described in Polo's stories?

Part 3) Do the two main characters ever find their way out of the maze of confusion? Explain.

Essay Topic 3

A common thread through Polo's tales of Khan's cities is "dreams and imagination." His stories are not only informative, but also extremely entertaining for the emperor thanks to the element of fantasy Polo employs.

1) Using specific examples from the book, explain how Marco Polo carries the theme of "dreams and imagination" in his stories.

2) How does this theme grab and hook Khan into Polo's tales?

(see the answer keys)

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