The City

Which of the following best illustrates the fact that The City is waiting for humans?

• The planet moved through space and the flowers of the fields grew up and fell away, and still the city waited;

• The city waited with its windows and its black obsidian walls and its sky towers and its unpennanted turrets, with its untrod streets and its untouched doorknobs, with not a scrap of paper or a fingerprint upon it.

• It was on a summer afternoon in the middle of the twenty thousandth year that the city ceased waiting. In the sky a rocket appeared.

• The planet moved through space and the flowers of the fields grew up and fell away, and still the city waited; and the rivers of the planet rose and waned and turned to dust.

Which of the following best represents how the author sets the mood?

• “All right, men. Careful! Into the city. Jensen, you and Hutchinson patrol ahead. Keep a sharp eye.”

• There were booted footsteps in the thin grass and calling voices from men within the rocket to men without.

• This information, stamped on tapes which sprocketed into slots, slid down through yellow cogs into further machines.

• A calculator made the sound of a metronome. Five, six, seven, eight nine. Nine men! An instantaneous typewriter inked this message on tape which slithered and vanished.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

"The smell of butter. In the city air, from the stalking men, faintly, the aura which wafted to the great Nose broke down into memories of milk, cheese, ice cream, butter, the effluvium of a dairy economy."

What does this quote from the story reveal to the reader?

Effluvium - unpleasant odor

• The City recognizes the smell of diary products.

• Diary products remind The City of humans.

• The City has the sense of smell.

• The smell of man-made things is sickening to The City.

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.3

CCSS.RL.2.6

"The Ear heard and quickened. Rotors glided, liquids glittered in small creeks through valves and blowers. A formula and a concoction—one followed another. Moments later, responding to the summons of the Ear and Nose, through giant holes in the city walls a fresh vapor blew out over the invaders."

What action does The City take following this quote?

• The City sets a trap for the men.

• The City emits the smell of grass.

• The men smell the grass and pause.

• The captain falls into a trap.

Tags

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RI.7.1

CCSS.RI.8.1

CCSS.RL.8.1

"The Ear and Nose relaxed a billionth of a fraction. The countermove had succeeded. The pawns were proceeding forward."

Which statement best explains (paraphrases) this quote?

• The City has to reset to trap the soldiers.

• The City is attempting to trick the men.

• The City has identified the intruders as human.

• The City realizes that it is successfully manipulating the men.

The author uses characters to represent human attributes. Which character best represents caution?

• Smith

• The captain

• Jones

• Hutchinson

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.3

CCSS.RL.6.3

CCSS.RL.7.3

CCSS.RL.9-10.3

CCSS.RL.11-12.3

Which of the following is the best example of foreshadowing?

• “I’m not falling into any trap!”

• “I tell you, Captain, it’s the windows!”

• “I’m going back to the rocket.”

• The others laughed, uneasily.

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.3

CCSS.RL.6.3

CCSS.RL.7.3

CCSS.RL.9-10.3

CCSS.RL.9-10.5

Check all of the statements that apply to the captain.

• He is afraid of the city and wants to return to the ship.

• He is the first person trapped by The City.

• He becomes one of The City's senses.

• He does not respect The City and therefore has no fear and takes no precautions.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

Which of the following would NOT be a theme for, "The City"?

• Actions have consequences.

• Revenge is pointless.

• Some things are worth waiting for.

• Revenge hurts everyone.

Tags

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RI. 9-10.9

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

Why do you think the author made the point to say that The City, "..enjoyed the luxury of dying."

• The City was sick from the disease spread by the humans.

• The original inhabitants programmed it to self-destruct.

• The City was tired from waiting so long.

• The City no longer had a purpose.