View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Khan dream his lands are filled with?

2. Polo lays assorted items at the feet of Khan and uses them for what?

3. In Chapter 6, Polo claims that he's reached the point where, in the number of people he has known:

4. The people in the city of Irene are:

5. Who are the Penates and the Lares?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who lives in the underground city of Eusapia, and who has access to it?

2. Describe Esmeralda, the city of water.

3. When Polo sees familiar faces in the city of Adelma, what does he start to wonder?

4. How does Clarice preserve and display its history?

5. What does Polo say to Khan when the emperor points out that he never speaks of Venice?

6. When Polo speaks of imperfections in the wood of Khan's chessboard, how does the emperor respond?

7. As Khan visualizes the growth of his empire, what are some of the concerns he has?

8. In Chapter 5, how does Polo illustrate to Khan the connections that hold cities together?

9. What are the theories regarding why the inhabitants of Baucis live up in the clouds and rarely climb down to the ground?

10. When people get lost in Eudoxia, what do they look at to find their bearings?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 985 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample