Vocabulary
If a road can correctly be described as submerged in water, which of the following must be true?
a. The road is impossible to navigate.
b. The area has experienced a long drought.
c. The location of the road is high in the mountains.
d. The road needs extensive work by the highway department.
What is - a. The road is impossible to navigate.
What is Harry Bittering’s main emotion in the first half of “Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed”?
a. He is curious about the fate of the Martians.
b. He is angry at his wife for wanting to stay on Mars.
c. He is afraid of being changed by the Martian environment.
d. He is annoyed by the other Earth people in the town on Mars.
What is c. - he is afraid of being changed by the Martian environment.
Which of the following best states a major theme in “Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed”?
a. Since we have limited resources on Earth, governments should look to other planets to meet our needs.
b. Humans are generally open minded and peaceful in their encounters with the unknown.
c. Though people often fear and resist it, change is unavoidable in the end.
d. Far-off worlds can be anything people imagine them to be.
What is c. - though people often fear and resist it, change is unavoidable in the end
Which event in “Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed” is most important in preventing the family’s return to Earth?
a. The family is happy living on a farm in the new settlement.
b. The return ticket to Earth costs more than the family has.
c. A rocket that Harry builds does not function.
d. An atomic world war breaks out on Earth.
What is d. - an atomic world war breaks out on Earth.
Which of the following situations could best be used to illustrate the meaning of forlorn?
a. a soccer team that has just won a game
b. an abandoned dog sitting alone in the rain
c. a teenage babysitter watching two young children play
d. a busy man on a city street who has just missed a bus
What is b. - an abandoned dog sitting alone in the rain
At the end of “Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed,” what is the attitude of the lieutenant who has recently arrived?
a. He finds the environment on Mars unappealing.
b. He likes the Martians and believes they are peaceful.
c. He suspects the Martians’ involvement in the disappearance of the settlers.
d. He feels enthusiastic about the new settlement that the captain is planning.
What is b. - he likes the Martians and believes they are peaceful
Which of the following quotations from “Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed” contains a simile?
a. The man felt . . . the tissues of his body draw tight as if he were standing at the center of a vacuum.
b. At any moment the Martian air might draw his soul from him.
c. A few tremblings shook him, but were carried off in waves of pleasant heat as he lay in the sun.
d. And then the water can build on that skeleton—green things, deep water things, red things, yellow things.
What is - a. the man felt the tissues of his body draw tight as if he were standing at the center of the vacuum.
Which sentence best describes the Bittering family members at the conclusion of “Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed”?
a. They are completely changed into Martians and have no memory of their past selves.
b. They are resigned to living on Mars but are unhappy with their lives there.
c. They are different physically but still think and act like Earth people.
d. They are eager to return to Earth now that the atomic war is over
What is a. - They are completely changed into Martians and have no memory of their past lives.
What is the word for artificial waterways for transportation or irrigation?
a. forlon
b. canals
c. immense
What is b. - canals
In “Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed,” what does the constant wind on Mars most likely represent?
a. the power of the environment to completely change the Earth people
b. the sadness that Mr. Bittering feels when he cannot return to Earth
c. the very hot weather on Mars that disturbs the Earth people
d. the destruction of the Earth people’s settlement on Mars
What is a. - the power of the environment to completely change the Earth people
Why can the following sentence from “Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed” be correctly called a metaphor? A river of wind submerged the house.
a. It makes the river and the wind seem like human beings.
b. It describes how wind can overpower solid objects.
c. It suggests that the wind is a powerful river.
d. It shows that the house is near a river.
What is c. - it suggests that the wind is a powerful river.
Both the story text and the radio play versions of “Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed” include Harry Bittering as a character. Which statement best explains how the two versions develop his character?
a. The story text’s narration directly reveals Harry’s thoughts and feelings, which must be inferred through his dialogue in the radio play.
b. The radio play’s music and sound effects build on Harry’s thoughts and fears, which are not as well supported in the story text.
c. The radio play’s dialogue and the actor’s interpretation of it create a better sense of his feelings than the story text’s narration does.
d. The story text’s specific focus on Harry develops a stronger character than the radio play’s focus on his entire family does.
What is a. - the story text's narration directly reveals Harry's thoughts and feelings, which must be inferred through his dialogue in the radio play.
What is the word for very large
a. forlon
b. canals
c. immense
What is c. - immense
Which quotation from does the constant wind on Mars most likely represent?
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.
b. “Even the house. The wind’s done something to it. The air’s burned it. The fog at night.”
c. 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.
d. 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.
What is a - the wind blew as if to flake away their identities
Which of the following quotations from “Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed” contains the clearest example of personification?
a. The children, small seeds, might at any instant be sown to all the Martian climes.
b. I feel like a salt crystal,” he said, “in a mountain stream, being washed away.”
c. The morning paper was toast-warm from the 6 A.M. Earth rocket.
d. This was the moment Mars had waited for.
What is d. - this was the moment Mars waited for.
Which statement best describes the effect of beginning the radio play version of “Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed” with an excerpt from the middle of the story text?
a. Starting with this excerpt quickly establishes Mars as a threat and creates a feeling of dread in the audience.
b. Because the excerpt is out of context, it makes little sense until the radio play reaches the middle of the plot.
c. Beginning in the middle of the plot makes the radio play seem more modern than the text.
d. The introductory excerpt sets up the audience to be surprised by the twist at the end of the plot.
What is a. - establishes Mars as a threat and creates feeling of dread in the audience.
What is the most accurate meaning of atmosphere in this sentence?
The atmosphere of the Earth consists of 78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen, and 1 percent other gases.
a. space
b. chemistry
c. cloud cover
d. surrounding air
What is - d. surrounding air
In “Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed,” what does Mr. Bittering do to cope with his fears about living on Mars? Choose two options.
b. He tries to build a rocket to take his family back to Earth.
c. He persuades his wife and family to return with him to Earth.
d. He spends time with other settlers, who talk him out of his fear.
e. He concentrates on his work on their small farm and other chores.
What is - b. and e.
In “Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed,” what is Mr. Bittering’s first clue that his world is changing?
a. His children want to adopt Martian names.
b. His peach tree sheds strange new blossoms.
c. His wife’s and his children’s eyes turn a golden color.
d. His neighbors calmly accept all the changes around them
What is b. - his peach tree sheds strange new blossoms.
Which of the following are the most significant differences between the story and the radio play version of “Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed”? Choose three options.
a. The story features fewer characters than the radio play does.
b. The children play a smaller role in the radio play than they do in the story text.
d. The ideas presented in the story’s narration are often left out or presented in dialogue in the radio play.
e. The radio play not only relies on the words of the text but also adds sound effects, music, and silence to bring the story to life.
What is - b, d, e