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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. When the people of Chloe pass each other in the street, what do they do?

2. This peninsular city can be reached by ship or camel, revealing itself to travelers by both land and sea:

3. Where do the people of Isaura find water?

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

5. What do the people of Zenobia imagine when asked to describe a happy life?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

7. When Khan instructs Polo to find the city from his dreams that has a north-facing harbor from which ships regularly leave as the people ashore wave their last goodbyes, what does Polo say?

8. Why does Polo say its pointless to try to describe the city of Zaira?

9. How is Maurilia connected to its past?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

When telling stories to Khan from the steps of the palace, Polo emphasizes the importance of the evening breeze they are enjoying. Explain how the breeze serves as a grounding mechanism. How does it work to imprint memories in Khan's mind? What purpose does it serve the stories Polo tells? How does the breeze affect Khan's connection to the stories and his cities?

Essay Topic 2

Part 1) What does Polo stand to gain by sharing stories about the empire's cities with Khan? What might he lose?

Part 2) How does Khan benefit from the information provided by Polo? Does it affect his ruling style in any way? Explain.

Essay Topic 3

In some of Polo's stories, he dissects cities in order to show Khan the bigger picture or the whole story. How does he dissect the cities of Olivia, Sophronia, Eutropia, and Zemrude in Chapter 4? Cite specific examples. How does dissecting these cities serve to paint the big picture so that the emperor can see these cities in their entirety? Explain.

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