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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 dignitary shows up at Mrs. Wisher's rally?
(a) The senator of New York
(b) The governor of New York.
(c) The mayor of New York.
(d) The president.

2. What do the police believe caused the marks found on Pamela's skeleton?
(a) A saw.
(b) Teeth.
(c) Disease.
(d) A knife.

3. What is D'Agosta's theory about the murders in Chapter 20?
(a) That the deaths aren't linked at all.
(b) That a cult might be committing the murders.
(c) That the murders are the work of a serial killer.
(d) That the murders are definitely attributable to the homeless population.

4. On which floor does Mrs. Wisher live?
(a) Twentieth floor.
(b) Second floor.
(c) Eighteenth floor.
(d) Eleventh floor.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What was the Tower modeled after?

2. What is the name of the administrator of the Physical Anthropology lab?

3. What is blastomycosis?

4. Where did Pamela expect to begin working?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. What do you think is the importance of the New York Museum of Natural History to the storyline?

2. Do you think that Bill Smithback would do anything to get the exclusive on a murder investigation? Why or why not? Do his tactics seem moral or sensationa? Why?

3. What purpose might an evolutionary biologist and a biologist whose specialty is genetics serve to the police in this story?

4. 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?

5. Waxie is a misogynist. What does his presence add to the story, and how does that contribute to the overall storyline?

6. Do you think Chief Horlocker's decision to make sure that the case is given priority because a debutante is based upon social standing, given that homeless men and women have died in the same way for weeks? Why or why not?

7. What kind of influence do you think a woman like Mrs. Wisher would likely have on the political climate? Does she show that she is willing to use that influence to force matters in the direction she wants them to go? What gives you that indication?

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

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

10. Why is there so much excitement surrounding the second skeleton found in the polluted Cloaca?

(see the answer keys)

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