Quiz on 'Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed'

What is Harry Bittering’s main emotion in the first half of “Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed”?

• He is curious about the fate of the Martians.

• He is angry at his wife for wanting to stay on Mars.

• He is afraid of being changed by the Martian environment.

• He is annoyed by the other Earth people in the town on Mars.

Which event in “Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed” is most important in preventing the family’s return to Earth?

• The family is happy living on a farm in the new settlement.

• The return ticket to Earth costs more than the family has.

• A rocket that Harry builds does not function.

• An atomic world war breaks out on Earth.

In “Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed,” what is Mr. Bittering’s first clue that his world is changing?

• His children want to adopt Martian names.

• His peach tree sheds strange new blossoms.

• His wife’s and his children’s eyes turn a golden color.

• His neighbors calmly accept all the changes around them.

In “Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed,” what does Mr. Bittering do to cope with his fears about living on Mars? Choose two options.

• He investigates Martian ruins to understand them better.

• He tries to build a rocket to take his family back to Earth.

• He persuades his wife and family to return with him to Earth.

• He concentrates on his work on their small farm and other chores.

Which sentence best describes the Bittering family members at the conclusion of “Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed”?

• They are completely changed into Martians and have no memory of their past selves.

• They are resigned to living on Mars but are unhappy with their lives there.

• They are different physically but still think and act like Earth people.

• They are eager to return to Earth now that the atomic war is over.

The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B.

Part A In “Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed,” what does the constant wind on Mars most likely represent?

• the power of the environment to completely change the Earth people

• the sadness that Mr. Bittering feels when he cannot return to Earth

• the very hot weather on Mars that disturbs the Earth people

• the destruction of the Earth people’s settlement on Mars

Part B Which quotation from “Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed” best supports the answer to Part A?

• The wind blew as if to flake away their identities. At any moment, the Martian air might draw his soul from him, as marrow comes from a white bone.

• “Even the house. The wind’s done something to it. The air’s burned it. The fog at night.”

• The nights were full of wind that blew down the empty moonlit sea meadows past the little white chess cities lying for their twelve-thousandth year in the shallows.

• The captain looked at the room, the dusty windows, the blue mountains rising beyond, the canals moving in the light, and he heard the soft wind in the air. He shivered.

Which of the following quotations from “Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed” contains a simile?

• The man felt . . . the tissues of his body draw tight as if he were standing at the center of a vacuum.

• At any moment the Martian air might draw his soul from him.

• A few tremblings shook him, but were carried off in waves of pleasant heat as he lay in the sun.

• And then the water can build on that skeleton—green things, deep water things, red things, yellow things.

Why can the following sentence from “Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed” be correctly called a metaphor? A river of wind submerged the house.

• It makes the river and the wind seem like human beings.

• It describes how wind can overpower solid objects.

• It suggests that the wind is a powerful river.

• It shows that the house is near a river.

Which of the following words is a synonym of destroy?

• uncover

• upset

• copy

• ruin