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WorksheetsA Sound of Thunder Quiz 30 April 2018
Total questions: 70
Worksheet time: 44mins
Name
Class
Date
1.
Why does Eckels want to travel back in time?
a)
to escape the police
b)
to live in a simpler time
c)
to do scientific research
d)
to hunt big game
2.
What kind of a leader does President Keith seem to be?
a)
peace-loving and democratic
b)
harsh and cruel
c)
a puppet of the rich and powerful
d)
a mental and physical weakling
3.
Travis asks the time travelers to obey several rules. By far the most important of these rules is to
a)
wear oxygen masks
b)
stay on the Path
c)
aim for the dinosaur's eyes
d)
take turns shooting
4.
Travis says, "The cave man...is not just any expendable man, no! He is an entire future nation." Which one of the following words is closest in meaning to "expendable"?
a)
dependable
b)
spendable
c)
commendable
d)
defendable
5.
Why, according to Travis, must the time travelers be very careful not to kill any plants or creatures from the past?
a)
Because by changing anything in the past they might greatly alter the future
b)
Because there is a government fine for illegal hunting in the past
c)
Because some of the living things are important to human beings
d)
Because they might hurt themselves
6.
Travis says, "With the death of that one cave man, a billion others yet unborn are throttled in the womb." Another word for "throttled" is
a)
created
b)
nourished
c)
enslaved
d)
strangled
7.
At what point in the story does Eckels first become frightened?
a)
When he hands his check to the man behind the desk
b)
When the Time Machine starts its journey
c)
When he gets his first glimpse of Tyrannosaurus Rex
d)
When they arrive home again in the year 2055
8.
When the dinosaur begins to attack, Eckels
a)
shoots it in the brain
b)
shoots and misses
c)
becomes frightened and runs
d)
takes its picture
9.
Just before returning home, Travis orders Eckels to
a)
retrieve the bullets
b)
bury the monster
c)
pay a fine
d)
sign a release
10.
What is the first thing Eckels notices when he returns from the time safari?
a)
The sign on the office door
b)
The mud on his boots
c)
The crushed butterfly
d)
That Deutscher has been elected president
11.
What is different about the sign on the office wall when Eckels returns?
a)
It has been replaced by a portrait of the new president.
b)
It has been turned upside down.
c)
The words are spelled differently.
d)
It is in a foreign language.
12.
How does Eckels seem to feel about Deutscher's election as president at the end of the story?
a)
He is happy at this turn of events
b)
He feels despair at this change
c)
he thinks Deutscher will be good for the country
d)
He doesn't care who is president
13.
What has Eckels done to change the course of time?
a)
He left a bullet in the dinosaur
b)
He removed his oxygen mask
c)
He killed a butterfly
d)
he stepped on the jungle grass
14.
The "sound of thunder" referred to in the last line of the story is actually the sound of
a)
a dinosaur falling
b)
a violent storm
c)
an angry voice
d)
a rifle shot
15.
Who is the protagonist of "A Sound of Thunder"?
a)
Eckels
b)
Travis
c)
Lesperance
16.
What animal was Eckels interested in hunting?
a)
A pterodactyl
b)
A Tyrannosaurus rex
c)
A grizzly bear
d)
A wooly mammoth
17.
How does Time Safari Inc. attempt to keep hunters from changing time?
a)
An antigravity path
b)
Oxygen masks
c)
Marking animals with red paint
d)
All of the above
18.
How does Eckels change history?
a)
He kills the wrong animal.
b)
He kills Travis.
c)
He steps off the path and crushes a butterfly.
d)
He takes off his oxygen mask.
19.
How has the future changed because of Eckels' mistake?
a)
Keith loses the election.
b)
Humanity is wiped out by war.
c)
The world has been conquered by Martians.
20.
What is the first sound of thunder in the story?
a)
Travis shooting Eckels
b)
The time machine malfunctioning
c)
The Tyrannosaurus rex
d)
The crying of pterodactyls
21.
What is the second sound of thunder in the story?
a)
Travis shooting Eckels
b)
The time machine malfunctioning
c)
The roar of the T. rex
d)
The crying of pterodactyls
22.
Name examples of foreshadowing in this story.
a)
The constant reminders to stay on the path
b)
The long, involved explanation about killing a mouse
c)
Eckels' fear and dismissive attitude about traveling in time
d)
All of these are examples of foreshadowing
23.
Who wrote "A Sound of Thunder"?
a)
Isaac Asimov
b)
Richard Connell
c)
Ray Bradbury
d)
Chris Schillig
24.
Which element of time travel stories is not present in "A Sound of Thunder"?
a)
Time machine
b)
Changing the past/present/future
c)
Something going terribly wrong
d)
People meeting their ancestors
25.
The phrase, "warm phlegm gathered in Eckels' throat; he swallowed and pushed it down." suggests that Eckels feels...
a)
Confident about the safari
b)
Apathetic to the safari
c)
Self Conscious about his relationship with the tour guide
d)
Apprehensive about the safari
26.
The tone of the story changes from the beginning to the end by...
a)
Starting off apathetic and ending confident.
b)
Starting off optimistic and ending violent.
c)
Starting off pessimistic and ending optimistic.
d)
Starting off tense and ending optimistic
27.
The tone of the story changes from the beginning to the end by...
a)
Starting off apathetic and ending confident.
b)
Starting off optimistic and ending violent.
c)
Starting off pessimistic and ending optimistic.
d)
Starting off tense and ending optimistic
28.
The line "each lower leg was a piston" (front of page 2, bottom of first column), is meant to emphasize...
a)
The height of the dinosaur compared to the trees.
b)
The fierceness of the dinosaur
c)
The inability of the dinosaur to be killed
d)
the power behind each leg and the dinosaur's ability to move freely.
29.
The line "each lower leg was a piston" (front of page 2, bottom of first column), is meant to emphasize...
a)
The height of the dinosaur compared to the trees.
b)
The fierceness of the dinosaur
c)
The inability of the dinosaur to be killed
d)
the power behind each leg and the dinosaur's ability to move freely.
30.
What is the meaning of the word "cavernous" as used on page 2? (back of front page, column two, toward the bottom).
a)
Dark and shadowy
b)
destructive
c)
flexible and moveable
d)
extremely large in size
31.
Which of the following group of words does not describe the character of Eckels?
a)
intimidating and aggressive
b)
wealthy
c)
frightened and traumatized
d)
regretful and afraid
32.
What is ironic that the animal Eckels destroyed was a butterfly?
a)
Butterflies are peaceful and innocent.
b)
Butterflies were rare during Prehistoric times.
c)
Butterflies are tiny, yet this one death was powerful enough to change the future.
d)
Butterflies are hard to step on.
33.
Explain why the author included the following dates for the time machine to go through on the trip home from the safari?
a)
All of these were significant dates of change in Europe.
b)
All of these were dates of success and triumph in the United States.
c)
All of these were dates of loss in the United States.
d)
All of these were dates of large scientific discoveries.
34.
Which of the following is a theme developed in the story?
a)
Every action or choice has results that drastically affect others.
b)
Love connects every living thing in an intricate web.
c)
Aggressive behavior often causes distress because it is hasty.
d)
None of the above
35.
How does Travis punish Eckels for his behavior during the safari?
a)
He makes him pay a large fine.
b)
He refuses to transport him back to the year 2055.
c)
He reports Eckels to the authorities.
d)
He shoots Eckels.
36.
Why does Lesperance say, "We can't take the body back with us?"
a)
Taking the body will make a significant strain on the time machine.
b)
Taking the body back is impossible because it will not fit in the machine.
c)
Taking the body will disrupt the biological processes in the jungle.
d)
Taking the body will make others want to destroy more animals.
37.
very old or ancient; basic and powerful
a)
primeval
b)
subliminal
c)
infinitesimally
d)
resilient
38.
’The Jungle was alive again, full of the old tremorings and bird cries. Eckels turned slowly to regard the ________ garbage dump, that hill of nightmares and terror
a)
primeval
b)
subliminal
c)
infinitesimally
d)
resilient
39.
below the threshold of sensation or consciousness; perceived by of affecting someone's mind without their being aware of it
a)
primeval
b)
subliminal
c)
infinitesimally
d)
resilient
40.
Eckels stood smelling of the air, and there was a thing to the air, a chemical taint so subtle, so slight, that only a faint cry of his _________ senses warned him it was there
a)
primeval
b)
subliminal
c)
infinitesimally
d)
resilient
41.
extremely small
a)
primeval
b)
subliminal
c)
infinitesimally
d)
resilient
42.
Correct. Crushing certain plants could add up ____________. A little error here would multiply in sixty million years, all out of proportion.
a)
primeval
b)
subliminal
c)
infinitesimally
d)
resilient
43.
able to become strong, healthy, or successful again after something bad happens; able to recoil or spring back into shape after bending, stretching, or being compressed
a)
primeval
b)
subliminal
c)
infinitesimally
d)
resilient
44.
’It came on great oiled, ________, striding legs. It towered thirty feet above half of the trees, a great evil god, folding its delicate watchmaker’s claws close to its oily reptilian chest.
a)
primeval
b)
subliminal
c)
infinitesimally
d)
resilient
45.
move with a smooth wavelike motion
a)
undulate
b)
annihilate
c)
taint
d)
sheathed
46.
In the slime, tiny insects wriggled, so that the entire body seemed to twitch and _________, even while the monster itself did not move.
a)
undulate
b)
annihilate
c)
taint
d)
sheathed
47.
destroy utterly; obliterate
a)
undulate
b)
annihilate
c)
taint
d)
sheathed
48.
And all the families of the families of the families of that one mouse! With a stamp of you foot, you __________ first one, then a dozen, then a thousand, a million, a billion possible mice!
a)
undulate
b)
annihilate
c)
taint
d)
sheathed
49.
a trace of a bad or undesirable quality or substance
a)
undulate
b)
annihilate
c)
taint
d)
sheathed
50.
Eckels stood smelling of the air, and there was a thing to the air, a chemical ________ so subtle, so slight, that only a faint cry of his subliminal senses warned him it was there.
a)
undulate
b)
annihilate
c)
taint
d)
sheathed
51.
to cover (something) with something that protects it
a)
undulate
b)
annihilate
c)
taint
d)
sheathed
52.
Each lower leg was a piston, a thousand pounds of white bone, sunk in thick ropes of muscles, ________ over in a gleam of pebbled skin like the mail of a terrible warrior.
a)
undulate
b)
annihilate
c)
taint
d)
sheathed
53.
designed to be used only once and then abandoned or destroyed
a)
expendable
b)
revoke
c)
taint
d)
annhilate
54.
So the caveman starves. And the caveman, please note, is not just an __________ man, no! He is an entire future nation.
a)
expendable
b)
revoke
c)
taint
d)
annhilate
55.
to officially cancel the power of (something such as a law, license, agreement): to make (something) not valid
a)
expendable
b)
revoke
c)
taint
d)
annhilate
56.
I’ll have to report to the government. They might __________ our license to travel. Who knows what he’s done to Time, to History!
a)
expendable
b)
revoke
c)
taint
d)
annhilate
57.
The hunters are allowed to kill dinosaurs marked with red paint because those dinosaurs...
a)
aren't real
b)
have only one brain
c)
are easiest to kill
d)
are about to die anyway
58.
What leads Eckels to stray off the path?
a)
panic
b)
curiosity
c)
anger
d)
necessity
59.
Which of the following changes the future?
a)
a butterfly's natural death
b)
a butterfly's unnatural death
c)
a dinosaur's natural death
d)
a dinosaur's unnatural death
60.
At the end of the story, what does the sound of thunder strongly hint at?
a)
Travis shooting Eckels
b)
The end of the world
c)
The butterfly's death
d)
Eckels shooting himself
61.
The story suggests that, had Eckels shot the red-painted dinosaur instead of panicking, history would have been changed
a)
for the better
b)
in an unpredictable way
c)
for the better
d)
in no significant or noticeable way
62.
The climax of the story occurs when —
a)
Travis orders Eckels out of the time machine
b)
Eckels kills a butterfly
c)
the tree falls on the dinosaur
d)
we learn the results of Eckels’ actions
63.
The mood of “A Sound of Thunder” can be
described as—
described as—
a)
tense and frightening
b)
past and present
c)
somber and serious
d)
science-fiction and adventure
64.
Why is the antigravity path necessary?
a)
To protect the hunters from the jungle
b)
To keep the hunters from getting lost.
c)
To protect the jungle from the hunters
d)
To lead them to the dinosaur.
65.
What is the name of the company that Eckels visits?
a)
Deutscher Headquarters
b)
The Government Museum
c)
Time Safari, Inc.
d)
Dinosaurs, Inc.
66.
From what point of view is the story told?
a)
Third person limited
b)
Second person
c)
First person
d)
Third person omniscient
67.
Ray Bradbury is the ________ of this story.
a)
Narrator.
b)
Author.
c)
Narrator and Writer.
d)
Writer and witness.
68.
Why does Eckels want to travel back in time?
a)
to escape the police
b)
to live in a simpler time
c)
to do scientific research
d)
to hunt big game
69.
What kind of a leader does President Keith seem to be?
a)
peace-loving and democratic
b)
harsh and cruel
c)
a puppet of the rich and powerful
d)
a mental and physical weakling
70.
Travis asks the time travelers to obey several rules. By far the most important of these rules is to
a)
wear oxygen masks
b)
stay on the Path
c)
aim for the dinosaur's eyes
d)
take turns shooting
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