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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. To whose music does Pietro listen?
(a) Glenn Miller.
(b) Benny Goodman.
(c) Count Basie.
(d) Duke Ellington.

2. Approximately how many months long is each crew member’s mission?
(a) 3.
(b) 12.
(c) 6.
(d) 9.

3. Which of the following is noted in the novel as a way to say “hello”?
(a) Guten Morgen.
(b) Ciao.
(c) Maacissee.
(d) Aloha.

4. How does the novel gloss the term Las Meninas?
(a) The queens of court.
(b) The women of the world.
(c) The damsels in distress.
(d) The ladies in waiting.

5. Which of the following receives an evacuation order in the novel?
(a) The Canaries.
(b) The Philippines.
(c) The Bahamas.
(d) The Azores.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which of the following does Chie list as reassuring?

2. Which exercise equipment does Roman use?

3. Who is the artist of Las Meninas?

4. With which of the following does the novel begin?

5. How many people crew the moon mission?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where do lost things on the station go, and why?

2. Why had the moon mission astronauts been treated to a special meal on their last night on earth?

3. What question does the novel posit aliens might ask about the presence of the station and missions on it?

4. Why does the station boast a Happy Birthday banner?

5. How does the novel describe the beginning of the typhoon?

6. What is it that prompts the fisherman to realize his children’s beauty?

7. What are the normal topics of conversation among the station crew?

8. Why is Shaun not surprised his wife remembers their teacher’s discussion of Las Meninas?

9. Why are the station crew advised to anchor themselves in time?

10. What, per the novel, underlies the desire never to leave the station among its crew?

(see the answer keys)

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