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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. What agency was eventually revealed to have had a whole network of spies working inside the Cuban government?

2. How many million people within Montezuma II's kingdom died as a result of the Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes and his men?

3. In what year did Neville Chamberlain first travel to Germany?

4. What is the first name of the man named Nassar who worked with the U.S. women's sports team for decades?

5. What is the first name of the man named Madoff discussed in Chapter 3: "The Queen of Cuba"?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Bernie Madoff?

2. Who was Fidel Castro?

3. In what way does Gladwell portray miscommunication as dangerous in Chapter 2: "Getting to Know der Fuhrer"?

4. What was Nahuatl?

5. In which era did large numbers of Cuban refugees defect from Cuba and why?

6. Around what singular incident does Gladwell see the whole book revolving, as described in the introduction, "Step Out of the Car"?

7. To what location was General Aspillaga posted and how did it change his outlook?

8. Describe the structure of the trivia test used by Levine.

9. Which political figure traveled to Germany to meet Hitler in 1938 and why?

10. What fact does Gladwell find odd about Adolf Hitler, as described in Chapter 2: "Getting to Know der Fuhrer"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Gladwell's treatment of truth, lies, and hypocrisy within the text of Talking to Strangers.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Gladwell’s use of Aristotle's appeals within the text of Talking to Strangers. How does Gladwell use each of the three appeals to persuade the reader of argumentative points central to the tenets of the work?

Essay Topic 3

What is Gladwell's message regarding the difference between awareness and activism and how does Gladwell get this message across to the reader?

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