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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. What is Jonathan limited by, according to the strange voice he hears in his head?

2. After Jonathan's brush with death, again, he attempts what at 8000 feet?

3. What causes a spinout instead of grace when Jonathan makes the change in #38?

4. Jonathan's greatest sorrow is that the other gulls refused to see the ______ of flight.

5. What is the terminal velocity Jonathan reaches when he is practicing?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is the seagull that practices flying slowly, far apart from the others as they are searching for food and eating?

2. How many seagulls are in the morning Flock of seagulls that are simply trying to find food to eat?

3. What is the gull speed record that Jonathan sets during his efforts to improve his flying?

4. What does the strange voice in Jonathan's head tell him about his flying, at first?

5. What happens to Jonathan every time he tries to turn a full power dive into a vertical dive?

6. What happens when Jonathan fails and he begins to turn his thoughts to just sinking to the bottom of the sea?

7. What does Jonathan discover is the key to turning when he is flying at great speeds?

8. As Jonathan begins his pull out during his record-setting speed, what happens?

9. Why doesn't Jonathan feel guilty about breaking the promise to the voice in his head?

10. What is Jonathan's reasoning for wanting to teach the others?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The Council for the Flock seems to want to discredit Jonathan's work in order to render him powerless over the rest of the Flock who has not converted. This seems to be quite realistic in relation to the way some governments control their people's perceptions as well.

Part 1: Why does the Council want to discredit Jonathan?

Part 2: What would the benefits of his being discredited be for the Flock? For the Council?

Part 3: What does the Council do in order to attempt to discredit Jonathan?

Essay Topic 2

It seems that in the definition of reincarnation, Gulls do not come back as anything other than Gulls. This seems strange as traditional thoughts on reincarnation say that animals come back as other animals and even humans.

Part 1: Why don't Gulls come back as anything besides Gulls?

Part 2: What does Chiang say will help to break this cycle of coming back as the same species again and again?

Part 3: Why might Gulls be the only species who come back as the same thing? What reasons can you provide?

Essay Topic 3

Jonathan really wants to share what he has learned with the other Gulls, but he is prevented from doing so. His sharing could promote great changes, he thinks.

Part 1: What are some of the lessons Jonathan wants to share with the rest of the Gulls?

Part 2: How is Jonathan prevented from sharing his knowledge with others?

Part 3: Is this situation harmful or helpful to the other Gulls in the Flock? Support your answer with examples from the book.

(see the answer keys)

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