View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Mr. Trigg do for a living?
(a) He is a scientist.
(b) He is a farmer.
(c) He is a newscaster.
(d) He is a schoolteacher.

2. What does Mr. Trigg offer Nat for protection against the birds?
(a) Pepper spray.
(b) A net.
(c) A machete.
(d) A gun.

3. When Nat phones about the birds flying inland, how does the voice on the other end sound?
(a) Angry.
(b) Terrified.
(c) Impatient.
(d) Skeptical.

4. On the story’s first evening, what wakes Nat from sleep?
(a) A nightmare.
(b) His daughter crying.
(c) The wind howling in the chimney.
(d) Tapping at his window.

5. Where does Nat deposit the bird bodies collected from his home?
(a) In the river,
(b) At the farm.
(c) On the beach.
(d) In a dumpster.

Short Answer Questions

1. In the story’s opening paragraph, what does the reader learn about Nat Hocken?

2. When Nat returns home from burying the bodies, what news does his wife deliver?

3. What does Nat use as a weapon to beat the birds out of the children’s bedroom?

4. At what time is the news broadcast in the evening?

5. What haunting sound does Nat hear when the birds start to attack on his way home from the bus stop?

Short Essay Questions

1. What supplies do the Hockens have at home, and what does Nat list as necessities to buy the next time he’s in town?

2. What does Nat Hocken do for a living, and why does he enjoy it?

3. How does Mrs. Hocken react when Nat starts boarding up the windows and doors?

4. Why is Nat filled with “a kind of excitement” upon returning home from the beach?

5. How does Nat dispose of the bird carcasses that litter his yard after the first attack?

6. What does Nat think has caused the birds’ strange behavior?

7. Who does Nat speak to while at the bus stop, and what is their reaction to his call?

8. How does Mr. Trigg help the situation when Jill arrives at the bus stop?

9. Why does Nat rush to the bus stop, early, to meet Jill from school?

10. What does Mrs. Hocken think the army should do to battle the birds, and what is Nat’s reaction to his wife’s idea?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 879 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample