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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. How much light does Mars receive from the Sun, compared to the light Earth receives?
(a) About three-quarters.
(b) About half.
(c) About twice as much.
(d) About one-quarter.

2. What does the narrator refer to as The Thing when he comes back to town after taking his wife away?
(a) A new Martian weapon.
(b) A Martian tripod.
(c) A dead Martian.
(d) The heat ray.

3. About how many soldiers does the military send in response to the first cylinder crash?
(a) Fifty.
(b) One hundred
(c) Four hundred.
(d) One thousand.

4. How often does the narrator say new cylinders are falling just before he meets the curate?
(a) Every day.
(b) Every week.
(c) Every other day.
(d) Every hour.

5. About how many people surround the pit the morning after the cylinder lands?
(a) One hundred.
(b) Twenty.
(c) Thirty.
(d) Five.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does the narrator say he feels on his way home from the heat ray incident?

2. What two emotions does the narrator experience after the first Martian appears?

3. Where does the narrator hide when he sees The Thing?

4. How do the villagers react when the first visitors to the cylinder spread the news?

5. How long has it been since the soldier has eaten when he first teams up with the narrator?

Short Essay Questions

1. When the narrator returns to the common on the second day, who is in the pit? What are they doing and why?

2. How does the narrator's brother initially feel about the narrator's safety, and why?

3. After the narrator walks toward the dead Martian, what does he see, and why is this important?

4. What does Ogilvy think is twisting off the top of the cylinder?

5. Right after the Martians first use the heat-ray, what do people know about how the weapon works?

6. As the curate and narrator fight for position at the opening in the ruined house, what do they see, and how does the narrator react?

7. Why does the newspaper editor in London refuse to print a story about the Martians?

8. How does the narrator describe the Martian's internal anatomy?

9. Why is the narrator disappointed the second time in the story that he interacts with the artilleryman?

10. What fact do scientists overlook when considering whether Mars can support life?

(see the answer keys)

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