There Will Come Soft Rains Test Review

How does the reader learn where and when "There Will Come Soft Rains" takes place?

• The date and location are burned into the side of the house.

• The reader must figure it out using a variety of clues throughout the story.

• An electronic device states the time, date, and location at the beginning of the story.

• There is a newspaper on the kitchen table that shows the date and location of the story.

Where are the human beings in "There Will Come Soft Rains"?

• They are at work or at school.

• They have moved to a different city.

• They have been killed by a nuclear bomb.

• They are being held prisoner in the basement of an automated house.

Which details show what has happened to the owners of the house in "There Will Come Soft Rains"?

• The stove prepares a breakfast that goes uneaten.

• Mrs. McClellan likes to listen to poetry in the evening.

• The house keeps itself clean and protects itself from harm.

• The shapes of four people are burned into the side of the house.

At the beginning of "There Will Come Soft Rains," the stove prepares eight pieces of toast, eight eggs, sixteen slices of bacon, two coffees, and two glasses of milk. What can you conclude is most likely to be true about the McClellan family, based on this information and other details?

• The family is having guests over for breakfast.

• Two of the family members are allergic to milk.

• The stove usually burns the toast and undercooks the eggs.

• There are four family members, and two of them are children.

How does the automated house "die" in "There Will Come Soft Rains"?

• It is blown up in a nuclear blast.

• The electronic mice tear it down.

• It catches on fire and is unable to put the fire out.

• The owners move away, and the house stops functioning.

Identify the choice that best answers the question: What is the most likely meaning of the word attending as it is used in this sentence? "The man stayed at his daughter's bedside while she had the flu, attending to her by giving her water and wiping her brow when she woke throughout the night."

• taking charge of

• making believe that

• helping or caring for

• listening carefully to

If a writer manipulated words to create an advertisement, what did the writer do?

• treated words badly

• used words skillfully

• corrected another writer’s mistakes

• persuaded people to like her writing

Which of the following situations is most likely to make a person feel tremulous?

• performing a solo while experiencing stage fright

• learning that an exam has been moved to a later date

• getting a good grade on a research paper

• hearing one’s favorite song on the radio

In "There Will Come Soft Rains," what are the parents doing at the time of the tragedy?

• They are downstairs in the basement.

• They are outside working in the garden.

• They are sitting together in the nursery.

• They are playing bridge at the card table.

What passage from the story supports the answer to Part A?

• Here the silhouette in paint of a man mowing a lawn. Here, as in a photograph, a woman bent to pick flowers.

• In the cellar, the incinerator glowed suddenly and a whirl of sparks leaped up the chimney.

• Bridge tables sprouted from patio walls. Playing cards fluttered onto pads in a shower of pips.

• A voice spoke from the study ceiling: "Mrs. McClellan, which poem would you like this evening?"