1. What does the breakfast stove make for breakfast?
(a) Eggs, toast, and bacon.
(b) Pancakes.
(c) Eggs and hash browns.
(d) Pancakes and bacon.

2. What historical event is alluded to with the date given in the beginning of the story?
(a) The beginning of World War II.
(b) The bombing of Hiroshima.
(c) The first testing of a nuclear bomb.
(d) The beginning of the Cold War.

3. Why do the robot mice come out when they do?
(a) There is food spilled near the table.
(b) They are programmed to come out at nine-fifteen.
(c) They mistake the noise of the rain for an intruder.
(d) They are looking for the family.

4. Which is the best summary of how the poem "There Will Come Soft Rains" compares to the short story of the same name?
(a) The poem is more hopeful about humankind's future.
(b) The poem focuses more on the survival of a world without humans.
(c) The poem is a darker version of the same ideas contained in the short story.
(d) The poem focuses more on the role of technology in humankind's demise.

5. Who is Baal?
(a) The dog that guards hell in Greek mythology.
(b) A pre-Christian god.
(c) A Mesopotamian warrior.
(d) An Egyptian pharaoh.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the likely purpose of inserting the house's "dialogue" ("Help, help! Fire! Run, run!") into the scene that describes the fire consuming the house?

2. The use of sentence fragments in the description of the spreading fire is probably intended to create what effect?

3. What causes the fire to eventually win the battle with the house?

4. Who is the author of the poem that the house reads after dinner?

5. At one point, Bradbury says that the house has a "preoccupation" with self-protection. What must be true about the house?

(see the answer key)

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