Ray Bradbury: There Will Come Soft Rains

 Which of the following describes the tone of the house's announcements?

• pleasant
• lonley
• sarcastic/nasty
• threatening

Why is no one home?

•  The house is too expensive to operate.
• Everyone is at work or school.
• Everyone has been killed.
•  The house is for sale. 

Which of the following words BEST describes the life the family probably lived?

• timid or scared
• warlike
• casual
• orderly

 What happened next after the tree bough crashes through the kitchen window? 

• The dog whines because it is hungry. 
• The robot mice came to clean the floor.
• A bottle of solvent breaks open; the house catches on fire.
• Breakfast is prepared.

How does the author arrange the chronological order in this story? 

• Use of a clock which announces the time in each new section. 
• He numbers each section of the story. 
• He discusses how the dog's hunger increases.
• He uses a robotic voice that serves as a calendar.

Based on this story, Bradbury would be in favor of 

• Increasing our stockpile of nuclear weapons. 
• Nuclear disarmament. 
• Automating all houses.
• People doing their own housework.

What is the story's setting? 

•  Sometime in the near future.
• August 4, 2026, after a nuclear blast. 
• May 5, 2012 
• In the distant future.

How does the house seem to come alive? 

•  The house tries to save its own life. 
•  The house cries when its inhabitants leave.
• The house has a full range of human emotions. 
• The house can do anything a person can do.

What is unusual about all of the characters in this story? 

• They are very patient. 
• They are not human. 
• They work hard. 
• They are all machines/ robots.

 How do you know the story is told in the third person point of view? 

• Narrator uses descriptive language. 
• The narrator tells about a time in the future. 
• The narrator is not a character in the story. 
• The narrator tells about many different events.