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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. How does Nell protect herself from what the Drummers have implanted in everyone's blood?

2. What does Carl Hollywood discover has been implanted in everyone's blood by the Drummers?

3. After being released from his dream-like prison, Hackworth learns that he has lost what?

4. The workers of Dovetail produce goods for whom?

5. Hackworth receives a message in Vancouver to seek whom?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "A New Friend," what does the red-headed woman explain to Nell and Harv about the activities of the citizens of Dovetail?

2. In "Carl Hollywood Takes the Oath," why is he allowed to join the elite Atlantis phyle and gain acceptance from Lord Finkle-McGraw?

3. In "Carl Hollywood's Activities at the Parnasse," why is Miranda so interested in the technical aspects of the Primer's interactive features?

4. In "Miranda Receives an Unusual Ractive Message," what scheme does she enter into?

5. In "Carl Hollywood Returns to Shanghai," what is the significance of his efforts to connect Miranda to the other information he has gathered?

6. In "From the Primer, Princess Nell's Activities as Duchess of Turing," how does Princess Nell become the Duchess of Turing?

7. In "From the Primer, Princess Nell Crosses the Trail of the Enigmatic Mouse Army," when grown-up Nell visits her ailing brother, Harv, what message does he share with her?

8. In "Carl Hollywood's Hack," how do Carl Hollywood's activities in a teahouse begin to tie together the various main characters and plots in the novel?

9. In "Nell's Passage Through Pudong," when Nell seeks employment at the brothel of Madame Ping, what sort of service does she hope to perform?

10. When Nell is called to Mrs. Matheson's deathbed in "From the Primer, a Visit to Castle Turing," what does the woman say to Nell that seems to foreshadow future events?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Track the gradually developing mother/daughter relationship between Miranda and Nell as it grows throughout the novel by way of the Primer, culminating in Nell's rescue of Miranda using skills she learned from the Primer.

Essay Topic 2

What is the primary lesson taught to Princess Nell (and real-life Nell) by each of the four magical friends: Dinosaur, Peter Rabbit, Duck, and Purple?

Essay Topic 3

In "The Diamond Age", Confucianism is portrayed as a philosophy involving decentralization and democracy, while Neo-Victorianism is portrayed as a philosophy involving centralized control and a hierarchy of status. Compare and contrast these two philosophies.

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