Wayground logo

Free Printable Worksheets

Font size

S
M
L
XL
Worksheets

"There Will Come Soft Rains" story/poem Review

Total questions: 39

Worksheet time: 20mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

When you make inferences about a character, you use all of the following strategies except —

a)

draw conclusions based on what the character does

b)

analyze how others react to the character

c)

decide whether or not you like the character

d)

examine what the character says

2.

In the sentence Emily didn’t know if she would like volunteering at the animal shelter, but she decided to try it, the writer characterizes Emily by —

a)

describing her appearance

b)

showing what she learns

c)

telling about her community

d)

revealing her thoughts

3.

When writers use direct characterization, they —

a)

create characters who are like people they know

b)

tell exactly what a character is like

c)

describe their own personality

d)

draw comparisons between characters

4.

What is a character’s motivation?

a)

The reasons for a character’s actions

b)

The problems a character faces

c)

The changes a character undergoes

d)

Events in a character’s past

5.

What is a biography?

a)

The history of people living in a particular area

b)

A person’s account of his or her own life

c)

A description of a person’s travels

d)

The story of someone’s life written by another person

6.

All of the following strategies are common ways of organizing ideas in an informational text except —

a)

chronological order

b)

story maps

c)

comparison and contrast

d)

cause and effect

7.

An author’s purpose is his or her —

a)

reason for writing a work

b)

attitude toward a subject

c)

main idea

d)

choice of audience

8.

Context clues can help you —

a)

pronounce foreign words

b)

understand how words are related

c)

determine the meaning of a word

d)

identify the root of a word

9.

Which of the following sentences describes a conflict that pits a character against elements of the setting?

a)

In the Midwest in the 1940s, two sisters argue over the inheritance of the family farm.

b)

A boy attending a boarding school in England must decide whether to report his friend for cheating.

c)

Stranded in the desert, a woman must overcome terrible heat and thirst to survive.

d)

Alone with his family at a campsite, a teenager confronts his parents about a family secret.

10.

Which of the following elements would not provide clues to a story’s setting?

a)

The types of transportation used in the story

b)

The writer’s description of the characters’ clothing

c)

The type of language used by the characters

d)

The use of suspense in the story’s plot

11.

The overall feeling conveyed in a literary work is called —

a)

foreshadowing

b)

mood

c)

imagery

d)

climax

12.

What is the tone of a literary work?

a)

The writer’s attitude toward his or her subject

b)

The author’s reason for writing the work

c)

The main idea expressed by the writer

d)

The writer’s cultural background

13.

In a story written in chronological order, the author —

a)

uses the present tense throughout the story

b)

interrupts the plot to tell about events that happened in the past

c)

describes events in the time sequence in which they occur

d)

imagines what will happen to characters in the future

14.

A series of causes and effects explains —

a)

the similarities between two items

b)

ideas in the order of their importance

c)

how or why one event leads to another

d)

the steps necessary for completing a task

15.

Which of the following words best describes the tone of the house’s announcements?

a)

pleasant

b)

sarcastic

c)

lonely

d)

threatening

16.

The house does all of the following things except —

a)

water the lawn

b)

realize what has happened

c)

prepare food

d)

read poems aloud

17.

What do the robot mice do?

a)

They announce the time.

b)

They feed the dog.

c)

They clean the house.

d)

They prepare the meals.

18.

Why is no one home?

a)

Everyone is at work or school.

b)

No one lives in the house because it is for sale.

c)

The house is too expensive to operate.

d)

Everyone has been killed.

19.

Which of the following words best describes the type of life the family probably led?

a)

timid

b)

orderly

c)

warlike

d)

casual

20.

The house identifies the Teasdale poem as Mrs. McClellan’s favorite. What does this poem suggest about Mrs. McClellan?

a)

She valued human achievements more than natural beauty.

b)

She thought about the potential destruction of humankind.

c)

She enjoyed listening to poems on rainy days.

d)

She was fascinated by the latest technology in house building.

21.

What happens after the tree bough crashes through the kitchen window?

a)

The dog whines because it is hungry.

b)

The robotic mice came out to clean the floor.

c)

Breakfast is prepared.

d)

A bottle of cleaning solvent breaks open on the stove and sets the house on fire.

22.

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

a)

He uses a clock, which announces the time in each new section.

b)

He uses a robotic voice that serves as a calendar.

c)

He numbers each section, beginning with the number 1.

d)

He discusses how the dog’s hunger increases.

23.

Which of the following statements is an example of personification in the story?

a)

The fire is compared to an avalanche.

b)

The dog is described as a pitiful creature.

c)

The house is described as quivering at every sound.

d)

The house is compared to a giant computer.

24.

Based on this story, Bradbury would most likely be in favor of —

a)

increasing our stockpile of nuclear weapons

b)

automating all houses

c)

people doing their own housework

d)

nuclear disarmament

25.

What is the story’s setting?

a)

Sometime in the near future

b)

In the very distant future

c)

May 5, 2025

d)

August 4, 2026, after a nuclear holocaust

26.

The setting functions as the story’s —

a)

theme

b)

main character

c)

plot

d)

topic or subject

27.

How does the house seem to come alive?

a)

The house tries to save its own life.

b)

The house cries when its inhabitants leave.

c)

The house has a full range of human emotions.

d)

The house can do anything a person can do.

28.

How does the author’s message fit with the setting?

a)

Bradbury argues that the average person works far too hard.

b)

Bradbury explains that we are not making the most of the technology at our disposal.

c)

Bradbury suggests that we will destroy ourselves with our own technology.

d)

Bradbury argues that we have become slaves to our homes.

29.

Which of the following words means trembling?

a)

paranoia

b)

tremulous

c)

sublime

d)

cavorting

e)

oblivious

30.

Which of the following words means unaware?

a)

paranoia

b)

tremulous

c)

sublime

d)

cavorting

e)

oblivious

31.

Which of the following words means grand?

a)

paranoia

b)

tremulous

c)

sublime

d)

cavorting

e)

oblivious

32.

Which of the following words means leaping about?

a)

paranoia

b)

tremulous

c)

sublime

d)

cavorting

e)

oblivious

33.

Which of the following words means unreasonable distrust?

a)

paranoia

b)

tremulous

c)

sublime

d)

cavorting

e)

oblivious

34.

Which of the following phrases best describes the scene the speaker refers to after line 6 of the poem?

a)

shocking and horrifying

b)

calm and overwhelming

c)

chaotic and unpredictable

d)

peaceful and beautiful

35.

Which of the following best states a theme of the poem?

a)

Nature is indifferent to humanity.

b)

Time heals all wounds.

c)

War is pointless and destructive.

d)

Humanity is cruel and violent at heart.

36.

If the humanity were to disappear, nature would…

a)

be mostly the same, with only a few slight changes.

b)

be greatly affected and look radically different.

c)

probably not notice and hardly be affected at all.

d)

be happy that humanity was finally gone.

37.

Which of the following best states what lines 7-10 suggest about the setting of the poem?

a)

The poem takes place on a field in the future, after nuclear warfare has destroyed all living things.

b)

The poem takes place on a battlefield after a war is won, when peace has finally set in.

c)

The poem takes place in a forest, far away from the chaos of people and urban life.

d)

The poem takes place in nature, a short time after humankind has destroyed itself from war.

38.

Line 6 is an example of -

a)

personification

b)

metaphor

c)

alliteration

d)

irony

39.

Line 11 is an example of -

a)

personification

b)

metaphor

c)

alliteration

d)

irony