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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What happens at ten o'clock?
(a) A stray animal wanders through the kitchen.
(b) The robot mice go back to their burrows.
(c) The sun comes out.
(d) The kitchen begins to make a second breakfast.

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

3. What happens to the dog when it cannot get into the kitchen?
(a) It scratches through the door.
(b) It runs through the house breaking things.
(c) It dies.
(d) It leaves the house.

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

5. When the fire travels outside and up the sides of the house, it is described as what?
(a) Mischievous.
(b) Clever.
(c) Overwhelming.
(d) Treacherous.

6. To what does Bradbury compare folding tables?
(a) Oysters,
(b) Butterflies.
(c) Folded hands.
(d) Books.

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

8. What can be seen on the house's west wall?
(a) Water beginning to seep in at the foundation.
(b) The silhouettes of the family.
(c) Broken glass.
(d) A huge crater.

9. The line "And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn," contains an example of which technique?
(a) Paradox.
(b) Metaphor.
(c) Personification.
(d) Oxymoron.

10. Bradbury mentions that martinis "manifested" on tables. What did the martinis do?
(a) Sparkled.
(b) Appeared.
(c) Spilled.
(d) Evaporated.

11. Why does the house let the dog in?
(a) It is an accident.
(b) It is programmed to let in any dog or cat.
(c) It wants the dog to find the family.
(d) It recognizes the dog.

12. In the image of animals, the panther is said to be "cavorting." What is this panther doing?
(a) Sleeping.
(b) Hunting.
(c) Eating.
(d) Playing.

13. What is the job of the robot mice?
(a) Cleaning.
(b) Entertaining the dog.
(c) Alerting the house to intruders.
(d) Entertaining the children.

14. What happens at ten-fifteen?
(a) A window breaks.
(b) The house shuts itself down.
(c) The nursery walls come to life.
(d) The sprinklers begin watering the lawn.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Bradbury compare the chemical fire-fighting foam to?

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

3. When the windows break and the wind makes the fire grow and spread, which thematic motif is reinforced?

4. "The house tried to save itself" is an example of which technique?

5. When the story ends, what is left standing?

(see the answer keys)

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