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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

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

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

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

Short Answer Questions

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

2. 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?

3. What is the first thing that the voice-clock announces?

4. What does the house provide after dinner?

5. What does the breakfast stove make for breakfast?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain the inclusion of the Sara Teasdale poem in this story.

2. How do the cleaning mice allude to Cinderella, and what is the purpose of this allusion?

3. Explain the purpose of the story's allusion to Longfellow's poem "The Children's Hour."

4. What is the purpose of ending the story with the house fire? Why not just end it with the reading of the Teasdale poem?

5. In what way is the house's "speech" like nursery rhymes, and what is the purpose of this choice?

6. What is ironic about Bradbury's use of rain in this story?

7. What is the difference between the focus of Teasdale's poem and the focus of Bradbury's short story?

8. Describe the image that ends the story and explain its significance.

9. What are the poses of the people in their silhouettes on the side of the house, and why are they important to notice?

10. How does Bradbury use the dates on which the story takes place as a form of foreshadowing?

(see the answer keys)

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