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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why does Nat worry about the cows during the bird attacks?
(a) The birds are killing livestock
(b) They need to be milked
(c) They're penned in and cannot escape
(d) He doesn’t want them to get stolen

2. What does Nat notice about the Triggs’ telephone?
(a) Nothing – the Triggs don’t have a telephone.
(b) They never had it installed.
(c) It has been torn from the wall.
(d) The operator is still on the other line.

3. What does Nat think the army should do to fight against the birds?
(a) Shoot them with machine guns.
(b) Nothing – he knows it would be fruitless.
(c) Spray them with mustard gas.
(d) Drop a bomb.

4. What does Nat do with the bird bodies he finds in his yard?
(a) He stacks them on the windowsills to enforce the barricades.
(b) He leaves them to rot.
(c) He stores them for fire kindling.
(d) He takes them to the beach for burial.

5. What does Nat tell his wife when she asks about the Triggs’ wellbeing?
(a) That they have gone to stay with friends
(b) That he has no idea where they are
(c) That they are hiding out in the barn
(d) That they are dead

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Nat enter the Trigg home?

2. What is Nat doing as the story comes to a close?

3. According to Nat’s calculation, how long will each “lull” between attacks last?

4. When Nat exits the house to collect supplies, what does he notice about the land birds?

5. What does Nat worry about when he turns the wireless off?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Nat doing as the story comes to a close?

2. When Nat leaves the house for the first time to gather supplies, what does he notice about the birds?

3. During the final attack, what does Nat wonder about the birds’ mindset?

4. Why does silence fill the Hocken house after the third attack, and what does this mean?

5. Why doesn’t Nat feel bad about stealing supplies from the Trigg farm, and how much does he gather?

6. How have the farm animals, on both the Hocken and Trigg properties, been affected by the attacks?

7. How does Nat use the bird corpses to reinforce his barricades, and how does he feel about this?

8. What does Nat realize is the force behind the bird attacks, and what does this mean to his survival planning?

9. Why does Nat drive through the second gate to his home after leaving the Trigg farm?

10. What does Mrs. Hocken chide Johnny about during dinner in the story’s final section, and why is this ironic?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 887 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample