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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. Alex and Jamie go get some dinner and then go to a what?

2. Gail Bond is currently where?

3. Lynn insists that who is staying at the house, no matter what?

4. Who is Dolly?

5. In Paris, Barton Williams boards what, with Gerard in tow?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain the incident with the turtle and what it implies.

2. Rick Diehl's lawyers tell him that he owns the Burnet cell line, therefore he has a right to take it from any source. Since Frank Burnet's children and grandchildren have the same cells, they technically are in possession of stolen property. Do you agree with that assessment?

3. In Paris, Gail Bond stops spending the night at her own apartment, giving her husband the opportunity to make Gerard, their transgenic bird, disappear. Gail knows her husband is behind the disappearance due to his hatred of the bird, but cannot prove it. What does that say about Gail as a person?

4. How and why do Henry and Lynn's attitudes about having Dave in their home seem to reverse in this section?

5. How do Vasco and DOlly figure out where Alex has gone?

6. Explain the interactions between Stan Milgram and Gerard in this section and Stan's unusual reaction to Gerard.

7. Dave fits in well with the Kendall family, but it does not take long before he realizes that he is different from everyone else. Lynn tries to make him feel better, but has difficulty knowing how to treat him. How might you deal with the situation in Lynn's place?

8. In Paris, Barton Williams boards his private jet with Gerard in tow, a gift for his wife. However, Gerard talks so much, repeating the words of everyone on board, that Williams gives him to one of the stewardesses rather than take it home and listen to it talk all the time. The stewardess takes it to a pet shop in Shaker Heights and gives it to the guy behind the counter, Stan Milgram. How do you feel about the way Gerard is being passed about?

9. How is Brad Gordon's situation worsened, yet again, in this section of the book?

10. Explain Dr. Bennett's predicament in this section and how you feel about it.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

A central topic of the book is animal experimentation. Answer the following questions comparing Gerard's case to Dave's:

1. Since breeding a chimpanzee with a man can be potentially dangerous, do you feel that Henry should not have experimented with an embryo to create Dave? Why or why not?

2. Since giving Gerard, a parrot, super intelligence does not seem outwardly dangerous, does that make his case more acceptable than Dave's? Use several examples from the story and real life to explain your opinion.

3. Do you feel that Gerard, Dave, neither or both should be considered property? Does heightened intelligence automatically indicate that they should be considered intelligent beings in charge of their own lives, or are they property, since they were the result of lab experiments?

Essay Topic 2

Many of the characters evolve throughout the story. Choose any one of the following characters and discuss the major events and changes they went through, as the story progressed.

Robert Bellarmino

Brad

Marty Roberts

Josh

Alex

Vasco

Essay Topic 3

The topic of animal testing is a sensitive one.

Part 1: Do you condone animal testing? Why or why not?

Part 2: Does your opinion of animal testing depend on which animals are being tested? For example, do you consider testing on mice acceptible, but testing on dogs or cats deplorable? What are your reasons for those opinions?

Part 3: Over all, do you think animal testing is helpful or harmful, both in the book and in real life? Use examples from the book and from real life to back up your responses.

(see the answer keys)

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