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

2. What is the name of the poem that the house reads after dinner?
(a) "August 6."
(b) "There Will Come Soft Rains."
(c) "The Children's Hour."
(d) "Fire and Ice."

3. Which is the best descriptor of the mood of the scene in the study, where the poem is read and music plays as a cigar slowly burns down to ash?
(a) Frantic and chaotic.
(b) Tragic and melodramatic.
(c) Haunting and ironic.
(d) Amusing and nostalgic.

4. When the story ends, what is left standing?
(a) Nothing.
(b) One wall of the house.
(c) A tree.
(d) A distant building.

5. Who is Baal?
(a) A Mesopotamian warrior.
(b) A pre-Christian god.
(c) The dog that guards hell in Greek mythology.
(d) An Egyptian pharaoh.

Short Answer Questions

1. To what does Bradbury compare folding tables?

2. What happens to the dog when it cannot get into the kitchen?

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

4. The line "And swallows circling with their shimmering sound" is an example of which technique?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain how the pun in the line "The morning house lay empty" explains why the house is empty and foreshadows the story's later revelation of the family's fate.

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

3. Explain what is ironic about the rain in the nursery scenery.

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

5. What is the likely purpose of including mechanical creatures such as rats and roaches?

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

7. What is the meaning of the silhouettes on the side of the house?

8. The garbage disposal in the kitchen is referred to as a "metal throat." What techniques are at use here, and what is their purpose?

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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