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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Section 1: "There Will Come Soft Rains".

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the image of the west wall meant to allude to?
(a) The Biblical flood.
(b) Similar silhouettes at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
(c) A recent riot in Los Angeles.
(d) An asteroid strike.

2. What is the probable purpose of emphasizing the roundness of the smoke plume and the great quantity of smoke?
(a) There is an implied comparison to a woman's skirts.
(b) It reminds the reader of a nuclear explosion.
(c) It reinforces the "technology versus nature" motif.
(d) It points out how little chance the house really had.

3. What does "feathery fire" describe in the poem "There Will Come Soft Rains"?
(a) The movement of feathers in the sunshine.
(b) The color of a male robin's breast.
(c) The movement of flames destroying the earth.
(d) The color of the rays of the sun coming over the horizon.

4. Where are the "aluminium roaches and iron crickets"?
(a) In the yard.
(b) In the garage.
(c) In the walls.
(d) In the nursery.

5. On what date does the story begin?
(a) August 6.
(b) August 4.
(c) April 4.
(d) April 6.

Short Answer Questions

1. In the section about the nursery, Bradbury mentions the "sprockets" in the walls. What are "sprockets"?

2. The line "And swallows circling with their shimmering sound" is an example of which technique?

3. What is thematically important about the cause of the fire in the kitchen?

4. What is the job of the robot mice?

5. Which is the best summary of how the poem "There Will Come Soft Rains" compares to the short story of the same name?

(see the answer key)

This section contains 350 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample