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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 rare treat does Jack share with Rod during their first meal together?

2. What element is needed to power the transport tunnels?

3. Where does Rod's new friend, Jack, live?

4. How much meat does Jack want to take, when the two are ready to part ways?

5. At the beginning of Chapter 6, Rod jokes that Jack is jealous of what?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who does the "dead" student in the tree turn out to be?

2. Why is Chapter 6 titled, "I Think He's Dead?"

3. Why has Rod's sister, Helen, returned home to be with the family in Chapter 2?

4. What strange sound prevents Rod from sleeping comfortably during his first night on the unknown planet?

5. Describe the "marching hordes" seen by Rod in Emigrants' Gap.

6. List several ways in which the futuristic Earth of "Tunnel in the Sky" differs from our present-day planet.

7. Why does Helen advise Rod not to carry a gun during his survival final exam on an unknown planet?

8. Why does Helen choose to tell Rod about his parents' decision, despite telling them that she would not reveal their plan?

9. Which students does Rod consider taking as a partner for his final exam, and why does he ultimately reject each?

10. Where does Rod believe he and the other students have been abandoned?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Robert A. Heinlein perceive the roles and capabilities of men and women? Cite examples from the novel. In what ways does his perception seem quaint, given the fact that the novel was first published in 1955? Is Heinlein a sexist, by today's standards?

Essay Topic 2

How does Robert A. Heinlein explain the technology involved in Ramsbotham Gates? How did the personality of the inventor, Dr. Jesse Evelyn Ramsbotham, as described in Chapter 2, lead to the invention of tunnel travel? How did the invention of tunnel travel transform the world of "Tunnel in the Sky?"

Essay Topic 3

What is the primary role of Jimmy in the novel? Is his comic relief a comfort to the other students? How does the character of Jimmy grow from the beginning of the novel, when he nearly skips the final survival exam due to fear, to the end of the novel, when he is a solid husband and father?

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This section contains 871 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample