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

2. What causes the house to temporarily "give up" as the fire spreads?
(a) The house is ready to "die."
(b) There is no more water.
(c) It has begun to rain outside.
(d) The house is waiting for the flames to reach the attic.

3. What does Bradbury compare the chemical fire-fighting foam to?
(a) Seafoam.
(b) Clouds.
(c) Snakes.
(d) Elephants.

4. 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?
(a) It clarifies the order in which the house is burning, because the house can still "speak."
(b) It reinforces how helpless and pointless the technology is in the face of nature's power.
(c) It reminds the reader of the death of the family.
(d) It reminds the reader that the house is a living thing.

5. 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 a darker version of the same ideas contained in the short story.
(b) The poem focuses more on the role of technology in humankind's demise.
(c) The poem is more hopeful about humankind's future.
(d) The poem focuses more on the survival of a world without humans.

Short Answer Questions

1. In which city does the story take place?

2. Why do the robot mice come out when they do?

3. What is the name of the poem that the house reads after dinner?

4. When the fire travels outside and up the sides of the house, it is described as what?

5. What is the probable purpose of emphasizing the roundness of the smoke plume and the great quantity of smoke?

(see the answer key)

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