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Lesson 11: The Great Fire

Total questions: 20

Worksheet time: 5hrs 0mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

What does the word ambled mean in the sentence below?

Since he had no plans for the afternoon, Malik just ambled down the street.

a)

crawled

b)

hurried

c)

marched

d)

strolled

2.

What does the word ornately mean in the sentence below?

The ornately decorated mirror did not match the plain furniture of the room.

a)

elaborately

b)

perfectly

c)

simply

d)

terribly

3.

What does the word hazards mean in the sentence below?

The loose rug and the extension cord in the hallway are safety hazards.

a)

chances

b)

dangers

c)

signs

d)

warnins

4.

What does the word unrelenting mean in the sentence below?

On our hike, we were soaked to the skin by the unrelenting rain.

a)

continuous

b)

light

c)

occasional

d)

unusual

5.

What does the word alleviate mean in the sentence below?

The city is building new trolley lines to alleviate its terrible traffic problems.

a)

increase

b)

lessen

c)

replace

d)

waste

6.

burned

a)

flared

b)

intense

c)

smolder

d)

stifling

7.

strong; powerful

a)

flared

b)

intense

c)

proclaimed

d)

smolder

8.

declared; announced

a)

flared

b)

ambled

c)

proclaimed

d)

unrelenting

9.

burn, smoke

a)

flared

b)

intense

c)

smolder

d)

stifling

10.

very hot

a)

stifling

b)

flared

c)

smolder

d)

unrelenting

11.

After he saw the first flames, Daniel Sullivan

a)

ran into the barn and yelled "Fire!"

b)

called Dennis Rogan to come help him.

c)

yelled "Fire!" and tried to wake up the O'Learys.

d)

yelled "Fire!" and then tried to free the O'Leary's animals.

12.

Read the sentence from the article.

Flames from the burning hay pushed against the roof and beams, almost as if they were struggling to break free.

Which of the following is used in the sentence above?

a)

alliteration

b)

onamatopoeia

c)

personification

d)

proverb

13.

How was the town's decision to build wooden sidewalks and pine-block streets several feet above the muddy earth a fire hazard?

a)

The wooden sidewalks and streets often fell over.

b)

The wooden sidewalks and streets often exploded.

c)

The wooden sidewalks and streets were highly flammable.

d)

The wooden sidewalks and streets were poorly built and difficult to walk on.

14.

The author writes that the cries of "Fire!" would be a warning cry heard thousands of times during the next thirty-one hours. You can infer from this statement that the fire in the O'Leary's barn would

a)

cause a much larger fire that would affect many people throughout the city.

b)

burn out quickly and cause damage only to the O'Leary's property.

c)

result in thousands of firefighters rushing to the O'Leary's barn.

d)

cause a lot of smaller fires elsewhere on the property.

15.

The author explains that most buildings in Chicago in 1871 were made of wood. How does this detail support the idea that Chicago was a city ready to burn?

a)

Chicago grew quickly.

b)

Bricks are fire-resistant.

c)

Wood burns very easily.

d)

Wood is a popular building material.

16.

The statistics about fires in Chicago show that

a)

firefighters were becoming better at their work.

b)

the danger of fire did not stop the city's growth.

c)

few Chicagoans had actually experienced fires.

d)

fires were becoming an increasing danger to the city.

17.

Why are the crowded conditions of Chicago's middle-class and poorer districts at the time important to understanding the Great Fire?

a)

Fewer firehouses were built in those districts.

b)

People were easily trapped in their houses in these areas.

c)

Firefighting equipment could not get through the narrow streets.

d)

Fire quickly spread from one house to the next in these densely populated sections.

18.

The author describes the fire in another barn as flaring up into a thousand yellow-orange fingers. What two things are being compared in the description above?

a)

flames and barn doors

b)

colors and numbers

c)

flames and fingers

d)

hands and fingers

19.

Which words in the sentence below show the sequence of events?

At about this time William Lee, who lived down the block from the O'Learys, went into his seventeen-month-old son's room to see why the child was crying.

a)

"At about this time"

b)

"who lived down the block"

c)

"his seventeen-month-old son's room"

d)

"why the child was crying"

20.

What finally happened fifteen minutes after the fire started?

a)

The O'Learys' barn collapsed.

b)

The first fire alarm was turned in.

c)

Bruno Gull's drugstore caught fire.

d)

People came out of their homes with buckets of water.