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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. With what kind of juice does May-may start taking her medicine?

2. Where does the bishop say he was when the bark cured his malaria?

3. What does May-may buy Dirk for his birthday?

4. When Dirk returns from the English Club following the duel challenge, who is waiting for him at his home?

5. Where is the bishop's palace?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Whalen send Monsey to Hong Kong to tell Longstaff he must leave?

2. Why does Dirk want to send Father Sebastian to Peru?

3. In Chapter 41, why does Culum tell Liza she cannot take Tess back to her home?

4. May-may presents Yin-hsi to Dirk as a birthday gift. What is the real reason she gives the girl to Dirk?

5. How does Gordon Chen plan to hide the fact that he is the leader of the Triads in Hong Kong from Dirk after Dirk confronts him about whether he is a leader?

6. Why does Dirk think the bishop might have cinchona bark?

7. How will Dirk and the others know when the eye of the storm is centered over Hong Kong?

8. After the typhoon, how does Skinner plan to publish the next issue of his paper?

9. What does Dirk think is the reason Culum cannot remember where he was in Macao?

10. According to Culum, how did Dirk use him and Tess?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the importance of Hong Kong to the Chinese and to the British? How do the traders feel about the possession of Hong Kong?

Essay Topic 2

How does the setting, both physical and historical, affect the plot of Tai-Pan? What is the importance of picking this specific time in history to set the novel in? Could the story have worked in a different historical setting? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

What motivates Jin-qua to help save The Noble House? Are his intentions honorable or is he simply trying to help himself and using The Noble House as a pawn? Or, is there a little bit of honor and self-interest at the same time?

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This section contains 614 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample