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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. Polo explains that the city Khan dreams of with the farewells from its harbor has one secret. What is it?
2. At the beginning of Chapter 2, what do Khan's messengers warn of?
3. When describing the cities of Eutropia, Polo explains that:
4. At the conclusion of Chapter 1, Khan is completely satisfied with Polo's explanations but still remembers what?
5. What is Eutropia composed of?
Short Essay Questions
1. 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?
2. Why does Polo say its pointless to try to describe the city of Zaira?
3. How does Khan react to Polo's stories when he's feeling euphoric about his empire?
4. Why does Polo say that it is best to visit Diomira on a September evening?
5. When Khan and Polo pause in between their conversations, pondering the meaning of what's been said, what does each imagine or visualize?
6. How does Polo describe the young women of Armilla?
7. Explain why Polo says that one cannot forget the city of Zora.
8. How does Khan react upon growing impatient with Polo's stories?
9. How does the information provided to Khan by his other messengers differ from what Polo shares?
10. What is the significance of the large metal building located at the center of Fedora?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
At first, Polo does not speak Khan's language and therefore uses symbols and gestures to communicate his stories. Later, he learns to speak a language Khan speaks and is able to give the emperor precise descriptions.
1) Analyze how Khan interprets Polo's stories when they are told through symbols and gestures. How much does he comprehend? What is left to his imagination? How does he fill in the blanks?
2) How do Khan's interpretations of the stories change once Polo learns to speak his language? Is any information lost, gained, or transformed? Explain.
3) Analyze the differences in Khan's interpretations when the stories are told through symbols and when they are told through clear spoken language. Which interpretation is closest to the truth Polo is trying to convey? Why?
Essay Topic 2
How does Polo reveal the disintegration of Khan's empire through his stories? Explain and support your answer with points from the book.
Essay Topic 3
In many of Polo's stories, there is a strong relationship between the living and the dead.
Part 1) Give specific examples from the book of cities that exhibit some type of connection between those who are alive and those who have passed on.
Part 2) Why does Polo cover this theme? Why does he return to it again and again? What is he trying to establish, either for himself or for the emperor, regarding the interconnectedness of the living and the dead?
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This section contains 903 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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