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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. At what time of day does the novel begin?

2. How many connecting modules compose the station?

3. At what time does the moon mission launch?

4. How many orbits does the station make of the earth in a day?

5. Which of the following did the station crew eat in celebration of the moon mission launching?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Why does Chie, in particular, hesitate to leave the station?

3. Why does Anton posit his brain repeats dreams?

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

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

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

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

8. Why does the fisherman not flee from the typhoon?

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

10. Why are the station crew not allowed new underwear daily?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What purpose is served by the novel’s note of the station’s deterioration? How is that purpose served? What effect does it have on reading?

Essay Topic 2

Which character is the second most important in the text? How does the work support such an assertion?

Essay Topic 3

A lack of formal sectional division in the novel obliges a fairly arbitrary breakdown of the text for purposes of study and discussion. How might the novel be sectioned off other than it currently is? Why might those divisions be appropriate, based on the text and its contexts of composition and reception?

(see the answer keys)

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