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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. Why does Chris pout after rowing Kate over to the site of the new discovery?

2. What do physicists believe in the beginning of the 21st Century?

3. To what does Liz seem oblivious?

4. What does Dan find when he follows the man's tracks off the road?

5. What is significant about "mon.ste.mere"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Marek like as a medieval historian?

2. How does one get onto the board of ITC?

3. What do scientists believe at the end of the 19th Century?

4. What is Chris' specialty in graduate school?

5. What is different about Marek's language abilities from most scholars?

6. What does Dan notice about the old man's body when Dan lifts him into the car?

7. What does the MRI on Traub reveal?

8. What does the Professor believe ITC has done concerning the Dordogne site?

9. Why do the workers have to wear filter masks at the digging site?

10. What does Doniger order Gordon to have a security officer do?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Often, authors will write about "what they know," and sometimes knowing a little about he author makes the books more interesting. Discuss the following:

a. Research and give a brief biographical sketch of Michael Crichton.

b. What in Crichton's background may have helped her in writing Timeline? What may have influenced the way he depicts various characters and scenes?

c. Do you think there is always some of the author's own life in his/her novels? Why or why not? Give examples.

d. What does the term "author agenda" mean?

e. Name one idea/concept you think may have been a part of the Crichton's agenda. Analyze that idea throughout the book and discuss Crichton's probable agenda concerning that idea.

f. Do you think writers who have an agenda for writing should point it out in a preface? Why or why not?

g. How often do you think fiction is written with a clear agenda in mind by the author? Explain your answer with examples.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss one of the following:

a. Thoroughly analyze how the setting informs the plot in Timeline.

b. Trace and analyze one major theme of Timeline. How is the theme represented by symbolism? By the characters' behaviors? By the action?

c. Trace and analyze two secondary themes of Timeline. How are the themes represented by symbolism? By the characters' behaviors? By the action?

Essay Topic 3

Chris finds fault with everything about the evening, particularly Kate's stockbroker friends from New York who keep asking ignorant questions about the dig site. For their benefit, Marek explains how under the feudal system, powerful lords provided the social order which had been lacking throughout the dark ages. The medieval era was a time of cultural and economic growth. Yet the Hundred Years War between England and France also caused great bloodshed and strife.

a. What do you think are the reasons Chris is finding fault with Kate’s friends?

b. Do you think the feudal system was beneficial to the people of the middle ages? Why or why not?

c. Discuss some examples of how the Hundred Years War caused so many problems in England and France. Use examples from Timeline to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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