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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In the poem "There Will Come Soft Rains," the plum trees are in "tremulous" white. Readers can infer that this refers to what?
(a) Ash.
(b) Snow.
(c) Butterflies.
(d) Blossoms.

2. What does the garage do when no one drives the car away?
(a) Waits and then closes again.
(b) Uses the car horn to alert the family.
(c) Announces again that it is time to go to work and to school.
(d) Starts the car remotely.

3. What is unusual about the images of the African animals?
(a) Their shapes.
(b) Their faces.
(c) Their colors.
(d) Their sizes.

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

5. What is the first thing that the voice-clock announces?
(a) Time for breakfast.
(b) Time for work.
(c) It is raining.
(d) Time to get up.

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

7. At one point, Bradbury says that the house has a "preoccupation" with self-protection. What must be true about the house?
(a) It is willing to do terrible things to protect itself.
(b) It is bored by the idea of protecting itself.
(c) It does not see a reason to try to protect itself.
(d) It is constantly trying to protect itself.

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

9. From two thirty-five to four o'clock, what can readers infer that the family would ordinarily be doing?
(a) Playing cards and having a snack.
(b) Cleaning.
(c) They would still be at work and school.
(d) Having friends over to eat and listen to the radio.

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

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

12. Who is the author of the poem that the house reads after dinner?
(a) Thomas.
(b) Longfellow.
(c) Teasdale.
(d) Bradbury.

13. What does the dog do once it gets inside the house?
(a) It begins eating the spoiled food.
(b) It looks through the house for the family's other dog.
(c) It barks at every door.
(d) It falls asleep in the nursery.

14. What does the house do with the uneaten breakfast?
(a) Scrapes it into the dog's dish.
(b) Leaves it sitting on the table with the rest of the uneaten meals.
(c) Puts it in the refrigerator.
(d) Throws it away.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Which room recreates the sights, sounds, and smells of the African savanna?

2. What causes the house to temporarily "give up" as the fire spreads?

3. What does the breakfast stove make for breakfast?

4. What does the house provide after dinner?

5. What is the house compared to as it burns to the ground?

(see the answer keys)

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