Enrichment 10 - "There Will Come Soft Rains" Questions

Question 1 - 10 are about the story!

1. Part A: Which of the following identifies the central idea of the story? (RL. 7.2)

• A house continues to function after its family is gone until it is destroyed by fire.

• A house does things to make its family happy so that it will receive new updates.

• A dog dies of old age when it returns to its deserted house.

• A family programs a house to make life easier for all who live in it.

2. PART B: How do the actions of the house influence the development of the central idea? (RL.7.3)

• The actions of the house prove that its main concern is pleasing the family and following their orders until they return.

• The actions of the house show that its routines function normally despite the family being gone.

• The actions of the house show that it has loved and cared for the dog throughout its life.

• The actions of the house cause the family to experience a luxurious life, even when they are not there.

3. Part A: Which of the following identifies the theme of the story?

• Human life ends when technology ceases to carry out its function.

• Even when human life ceases to exist, technology and its functions will still carry on.

• Technology promotes human happiness and makes life much easier for all who use it.

• Using technology is a promising way to ensure that human life never ends.

4. Part B: Which TWO of the following best support the answer to Part A?

• In the living room the voice-clock sang, Tick-tock, seven o'clock, time to get up, time to get up, seven o 'clock! as if it were afraid that nobody would.

• The five spots of paint - the man, the woman, the children, the ball - remained. The rest was a thin charcoaled layer. The gentle sprinkler rain filled the garden with falling light.

• The front door recognized the dog voice and opened. The dog, once huge and fleshy, but now gone to bone and covered with sores, moved in and through the house, tracking mud.

• If a sparrow brushed a window, the shade snapped up. The bird, startled, flew off! No, not even a bird must touch the house!

• Within the wall, a last voice said, over and over again and again, even as the sun rose to shine upon the heaped rubble and steam: "Today is August 5, 2026, today is August 5, 2026, today is..."

5. How does the exposition in paragraphs 1-6 contribute to the development of the plot? (RL.7.3)

• It introduces the idea that the family that lived in the home is no longer there.

• It provides the readers with information about how to eat a well-balanced breakfast.

• It describes how the house is an all-knowing being that monitors the family that lives there.

• It shows what the family that resides in the house expects at the start of every morning.

6. Reread the following paragraphs.

Ten-fifteen. The garden sprinklers whirled up in golden founts, filling the soft morning air with scatterings of brightness. The water pelted window panes, running down the charred west side where the house had been burned, evenly free of its white paint. The entire west face of the house was black, save for five places. Here the silhouette in paint of a man mowing a lawn. Here, as in a photograph, a woman bent to pick flowers. Still farther over, their images burned on wood in one titanic instant, a small boy, hands flung into the air; higher up, the image of a thrown ball, and opposite him a girl, hands raised to catch a ball which never came down.

The five spots of paint - the man, the woman, the children, the ball - remained. The rest was a thin charcoaled layer.

Based on the description above, what inference can the reader make? (RL.7.2)

• The was is a mural created by an artist who wanted to celebrate the joys of childhood.

• The family was frightened by fire, so they ran away when next door burned down.

• The family was suddenly killed by a bomb as they enjoyed their time outside.

• The sprinklers spouted water every morning at 10:15 to keep the plants alive.

7. Reread the following paragraph.

Animals took shape: yellow giraffes, blue lions, pink antelopes, lilac panthers cavorting in crystal substance. The walls were glass. They looked out upon color and fantasy. Hidden films clocked through well-oiled sprockets, and the walls lived. The nursery floor was woven to resemble a crisp, cereal meadow. Over this ran aluminum roaches and iron crickets, and in the hot still air butterflies of delicate red tissue wavered among the sharp aroma of animal spoors! There was the sound like a great matted yellow hive of bees within a dark bellows, the lazy bumble of a purring lion. And there was the patter of okapi feet and the murmur of a fresh jungle rain, like other hoofs, falling upon the summer-starched grass. Now the walls dissolved into distances of parched grass, mile on mile, and warm endless sky. The animals drew away into thorn brakes and water holes. It was the children's hour.

How does the imagery and figurative language in the paragraph above contribute to the reader’s understanding of the house’s role as a character?

• It shows that the house views the children as people who need to be entertained at all cost because boredom is frowned upon in that society.

• It provides information on how children should spend their time when they are not at school.

• It shows the reader how the house works to comfort and please the family in all aspects of life, including entertaining the children.

• It provides details and descriptions to help readers understand the importance of learning about animals.

8. Reread the following paragraphs.

A dog whined, shivering, on the front porch.The front door recognized the dog voice and opened. The dog, once huge and fleshy, but now gone to bone and covered with sores, moved in and though the house, tracking mud. Behind it whirred angry mice, angry at having to pick up mud, angry at inconvenience. For not a leaf fragment blew under the door but what the wall flipped open and the copper scrap rats flashed swiftly out.

What do the house’s actions in the paragraph above reveal about the house’s perspective of the dog? (RL.7.6)

• While the house recognizes the dog as a member of the family, it ignores the dog once it is inside and focuses on household chores, frustrated at the added chore of cleaning the dog’s mess.

• The house recognizes that dog and treats it with kindness once it is inside, showing that the house has missed the dog while it was gone.

• The house welcomes the dog inside, but becomes furious because the dog allowed mice to come inside when it entered the house.

• While the house is happy to have the dog return, it is more concerned that the family that inhabits the house is nowhere to be found.

9. Which of the following best identifies the author’s purpose for including Sara Teasdale’s poem, “There Will Come Soft Rains,” in the story?

• To allow readers to understand the house owner’s love of Sara Teasdale and her poetry

• To let readers know that there is a poem with the same title as Bradbury’s short story

• To foreshadow the end of the story in which the world goes on without the presence of people

• To help readers recognize the importance of reading poetry in times of struggle

10. How does the author reveal clues throughout the story to suggest that all human life in that area is gone? (RL.7.3)

• The author reveals clues by showing how the house is empty and by showing how the only evidence of human life is their charred outlines on the side of the house.

• The author reveals clues by showing how the house does things to make the family come back because the house misses its family.

• The author reveals clues by consistently showing the house as something that cleans and entertains people, and it needs people in order to fulfill its duties.

• The author reveals clues by showing how mice and dogs are the only things that enter the house, not people, making it obvious that someone will return to exterminate the mice and care for the dog.