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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. The robot mice are said to live in "warrens." This means that they live in what?
(a) Racks.
(b) Networks of tunnels.
(c) Plastic sleeves.
(d) Small boxes.

2. What is thematically important about the cause of the fire in the kitchen?
(a) The fire is started when the house's elaborate machinery begins to break down.
(b) The fire is started when the natural world intrudes into the house.
(c) The fire is started when one of the cleaning mice knocks over a cleaning product.
(d) The fire is started by the family dog.

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

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

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

6. 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.

7. When the windows break and the wind makes the fire grow and spread, which thematic motif is reinforced?
(a) The house is evil.
(b) The house is a part of nature.
(c) Nature and the house are in opposition.
(d) Technology can be dangerous.

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

9. "Seven-nine, breakfast time" is an example of which rhyming technique?
(a) Slant rhyme.
(b) Identical rhyme.
(c) End rhyme.
(d) Eye rhyme.

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

11. During the fire, what does Bradbury compare the house's dialogue to?
(a) A nursery rhyme.
(b) A person's last words.
(c) The poem "There Will Come Soft Rains."
(d) The epilogue of a play.

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

13. "The house tried to save itself" is an example of which technique?
(a) Alliteration.
(b) Personification.
(c) Onomatopoeia.
(d) Paradox.

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

15. What does Bradbury compare to Baal?
(a) The stove.
(b) The incinerator.
(c) The house.
(d) The dog.

Short Answer Questions

1. What "delicacies" does the fire consume upstairs?

2. In the sentence "The morning house lay empty," there is an example of which technique?

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

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?

5. What does the garage do when no one drives the car away?

(see the answer keys)

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