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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. What metaphor is used to describe the Reservoir in Chapter 16?
(a) It was a mirror of deep reflection.
(b) It was a sheet of beaten gold.
(c) It was a shimmering ribbon of sequins.
(d) It was a slightly curved smile on the face of New York.

2. What is the Pitti Palace?
(a) An art museum.
(b) Home of Augustian royalty.
(c) A Chinese restaurant.
(d) A dance club.

3. What does the trio find in the cubby where the second headless body was found?
(a) A rat's nest.
(b) A head.
(c) An old coin.
(d) A cryptic note.

4. What stench does D'Agosta try to dilute with the plume of smoke?
(a) Rancid urine.
(b) Unwashed human bodies.
(c) All answers are correct.
(d) Bad wine.

5. What does Hayward tell Waxie and D'Agosta to watch for in the lower level?
(a) That they avoid the third rail.
(b) All of the answers are correct.
(c) That they don't get piped.
(d) That they don't step in feces.

Short Answer Questions

1. What odor does Smithback detect when following his informant into the small hole?

2. What kind of tests were run on the two skeletons found in the river?

3. What is the average number of murders a day in the past year in New York as mentioned in Chapter 14?

4. Where do Smithback and Margo have drinks after he runs into her while she is jogging?

5. Where does Smithbeck's informant ask to meet him?

Short Essay Questions

1. When Mephisto gives Smithback the nickname "scriblerian," what does he imply?

2. What are the repercussions of the $100,000 reward posted by Bill Smithback and the Post?

3. Does the existence of an underground "clan" seem plausible? What do you think is their purpose in the story?

4. Who is the homeless man who invades D'Agosta's office, and what is his reason for being there?

5. Brambell and Frock are men of extraordinary intelligence. Why do you think their personalities clash?

6. What is the irony in the author's naming the leader of the Route 666 group Mephisto?

7. To what does Dr. Frock attribute the Mbwun's existence and its unlikely appearance in New York?

8. Why do you think the author mentions his previous book, "Relic"?

9. What about the Museum of Natural History makes its atmosphere àpropos to a book of this genre?

10. What is Brambell's theory about what animal is responsible for the teeth marks on Pamela Wisher's bones? How does this change the direction of the investigation?

(see the answer keys)

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