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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. Kin's coworkers believed it would be funny to do what to the planet they were creating?

2. In their first morning on the flat planet, what attempts to visit Kin and the others?

3. What vital thing does Silver need from the dumbwaiter?

4. Why does Silver agree to go on the expedition?

5. During their trip to the sailor's homeland, what are the protagonists are attacked by?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Marco's background, and what does he believe about himself?

2. What does the Company provide for humanity as a whole and, specifically, for its employees?

3. What does each character do during the journey to the flat planet?

4. What is unusual about the raven's behavior as the group prepares to leave Kung?

5. For whom does Kin Arad work, and what does she do?

6. How does Jago die?

7. What things are unusual about the ship that Jago arranged for the expedition?

8. How do Kin and the others help the sailors who try to visit them?

9. What evidence does Jago produce to back up his claims about the flat planet?

10. Who is Jago Jalo, and why does he seek out Kin Arad?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Jago Jalo is an interesting character about whom little is known. Most of his story must be interpolated from a small amount of information in the novel.

Part 1) What was Jago like before he was sent out on the Terminus project? Think about what sort of qualities would qualify someone for a difficult task like this, and what would make a person volunteer for the duty.

Part 2) What were Jago's adventures on the planet like after he crashed? Why was he not accepted as Disc Master, and how was he able to get off the planet?

Part 3) What was Jago's plan upon returning to the planet?

Essay Topic 2

The strata machine, invented by either the Spindle Kings, the Wheelers before them, or possibly some earlier race, is capable of creating new planets. This is the primary occupation of the Company, and it has given them immense power as well as ensuring the survival of the human race. There is not much detail given about the process of creating a new planet. This essay addresses that subject in a creative fashion.

Part 1) How does the process of building a planet begin? What factors have to be determined during the planning stage? What personnel and resources are required for the operation?

Part 2) What is the first step in the actual construction of the planet? How does construction proceed from these first stages through to the completion of the project?

Part 3) What are some special considerations that have to be taken into account in the final touches of planet creation?

Part 4) How are colonists selected and placed on the planet, and how is the planet maintained and monitored?

Essay Topic 3

After they crash on the flat planet, Kin and the others interact with its inhabitants in many places and in many different ways. These people, as rough analogues of real historical cultures, serve to illustrate various points that the author wishes to make about those civilizations.

Part 1) Describe the first meeting between the inhabitants of the flat planet and Kin and her companions. What are the results of this exchange? What impression do Kin and the other take away from this experience?

Part 2) Explain the other interactions the explorers have with the locals. How do these compare with their first interactions? Explain ways that the explorer's perceptions of the locals change as a result of later encounters.

Part 3) What impact do the explorers have on the local populations? Explain both immediate and long lasting effects.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 984 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample