Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Story 1: “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate”

Reading Check

1. To whom is Fuwaad ibn Abbas telling his story?

2. What is the merchant’s name?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What does ibn Abbas learn after journeying to the past, and how does he feel about this realization?

Paired Resource

“Is Time Travel Possible?”

• This article from Scientific American explores how Einstein’s theory of relativity allows for time travel, though not the kind we generally imagine.
• This connects to the theme of Technology: Abuse and Responsibility.
• How does the time travel in “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate” align with the type of time travel described in the article? What might Chiang be saying about the purpose of time travel in his story?

Story 2: “Exhalation”

Reading Check

1. What anomaly causes unrest among the robots?

2. What scientific experiment does the narrator carry out?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What is the purpose of the narrator’s experiment, and what does he discover?

2.