All Summer in a Day
Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
Critical Reading
Identify the letter of the choice that best answers the question.
____
1. What are the children doing as “All Summer in a Day” opens?
a.
b.
c.
d.
____
They are teasing Margot.
They are reciting poetry.
They are peering out a window.
They are pushing Margot into a closet.
2. What does this passage from “All Summer in a Day” suggest about the setting?
A thousand forests had been crushed under the rain and grown up a thousand times to be crushed
again. And this was the way life was forever on the planet Venus.
____
a. Venus was a thousand years old.
b. Venus had rain most of the time.
c. There had never been forests in Venus.
d. There were no forests in Venus.
3. What do the details in this passage tell you about Bradbury's purpose?
And this was the way life was forever on the planet Venus and this was the schoolroom of the
children of the rocket men and women who had come to a raining world to set up civilization and live
out their lives.
____
a. He wishes to inform.
b. He wishes to persuade.
c. He wishes to question.
d. He wishes to entertain.
4. What does the following passage from “All Summer in a Day” say about Margot?
She was a very frail girl who looked as if she had been lost in the rain for years and the rain had
washed out the blue from her eyes and the red from her mouth and the yellow from her hair.
a.
b.
c.
d.
____
Margot has been out in the rain for years.
Margot is pale and delicate.
Margot's eyes have no color.
Margot no longer wears lipstick.
5. How do the children show their disrespect for Margot?
a. They lose her in the tunnel.
b. They force her to take a shower.
c. They lock her in a closet.
d. They push her out the door.
____
6. In “All Summer in a Day,” why do the children say “Yes!” when their teacher asks, “Are we all here?”
____
a. They do not want to wait for Margot.
b. They have forgotten about Margot.
c. They are afraid to tell what they did.
d. They want Margot to miss the sun.
7. What does the following passage tell you about the setting of “All Summer in a Day”?
The children lay out, laughing, on the jungle mattress, and heard it sigh and squeak under them,
resilient and alive.
a.
b.
c.
d.
____
8. If wind is slackening, which of the following statements is true?
a.
b.
c.
d.
____
The children have put their beds outside.
Venus is covered with thick vegetation.
The vegetation on Venus can talk.
The vegetation on Venus is dangerous.
It is not as windy now as it was a little while ago.
It is windier now than it was a little while ago.
The wind is now mixed with rain and sleet.
The wind is creating dangerous driving conditions.
9. In which of the following sentences is a personal pronoun used as the subject?
a.
b.
c.
d.
She would play no games with them in the echoing tunnels.
“Now, don't go too far,” called the teacher after them.
The door slid back and the smell of the … world came in to them.
A few cold drops fell on their noses and their cheeks and their mouths.
____ 10. In “All Summer in a Day,” how does William show his disrespect for Margot?
a.
b.
c.
d.
He refuses to let her play tag with the rest of them.
He refuses to listen when she reads her poem.
He runs away and leaves her alone in the tunnel.
He shoves her and tells her the sun will not shine.
____ 11. What do the details in this passage tell you about the author's purpose?
They stopped running and stood in the great jungle that covered Venus, that grew and never stopped
growing, tumultuously, even as you watched it. It was a nest of octopi, clustering up great arms of
fleshlike weed, wavering, flowering in this brief spring.
a.
b.
c.
d.
He wishes to inform.
He wishes to persuade.
He wishes to create an image.
He wishes to teach a lesson.
____ 12. What does this passage from “All Summer in a Day” suggest about the setting?
They looked at everything and savored everything. Then, wildly, like animals escaped from their
caves, they ran and ran in shouting circles. They ran for an hour and did not stop running.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Venus is full of caves.
Venus is full of animals.
One can feel free on Venus.
There is much to see on Venus.
____ 13. Which details does the author of “All Summer in a Day” use to inform readers that the children feel guilty
about locking Margot in the closet?
I. They cannot look into each other's eyes.
II. Their faces are solemn and pale.
III. They run around in the sun.
IV. They look at their hands and feet.
a.
b.
c.
d.
I, II, III
II, III, IV
I, II, IV
I, III, IV
____ 14. In “All Summer in a Day,” which setting does the author use to show the children's cruelty?
a.
b.
c.
d.
the shower rooms
the jungle
the schoolroom closet
the underground tunnel
____ 15. Who is the author of the story?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Rudyard Kipling
Richard Peck
Shel Silverstein
Ray Bradbury
Essay: Pick One
16. In an essay, consider how the setting of “All Summer in a Day” contributes to the mood of the story. First,
describe the story's setting. Include as many details about the setting as you can think of. Then, tell how the
story makes you feel. How does the setting add to or create that feeling?
17. As you read “All Summer in a Day,” did you feel you were actually there on Venus, in that classroom? Did
you feel the heat of the sun outside when it finally appeared? Ray Bradbury creates the experience of being
there with sensory language—language that appeals to the senses by telling how something looks, how it feels
to the touch, how it smells, how it sounds. In an essay, write about sensory images that you remember from
the story, and describe how each made you experience the setting.
18. In “All Summer in a Day,” the other children do not accept Margot because she is different from them. In an
essay, identify the ways in which Margot is different, and explain why those differences cause the children to
reject her.
All Summer in a Day
Answer Section
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. ANS:
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C
PTS: 1
DIF: easy
OBJ: Comprehension
PA.LA.R.7.A.1
TOP: Critical Reading
B
PTS: 1
DIF: easy
OBJ: Reading
PA.LA.R.7.A.1
TOP: Critical Reading
B
PTS: 1
DIF: easy
OBJ: Literary Analysis
PA.LA.R.7.B.2.1.2 | PA.LA.R.7.B.3.1.1
TOP: Critical Reading
A
PTS: 1
DIF: easy
OBJ: Reading
PA.LA.R.7.A.1
TOP: Critical Reading
B
PTS: 1
DIF: easy
OBJ: Comprehension
PA.LA.R.7.A.1
TOP: Critical Reading
D
PTS: 1
DIF: easy
OBJ: Interpretation
PA.LA.R.7.B.1.1
TOP: Critical Reading
A
PTS: 1
DIF: easy
OBJ: Interpretation
PA.LA.R.7.B.1.1
TOP: Critical Reading
C
PTS: 1
DIF: easy
OBJ: Comprehension
PA.LA.R.7.A.1
TOP: Critical Reading
D
PTS: 1
DIF: easy
OBJ: Interpretation
PA.LA.R.7.B.1.1
TOP: Critical Reading
B
PTS: 1
DIF: easy
OBJ: Literary Analysis
PA.LA.R.7.B.2.1.2 | PA.LA.R.7.B.3.1.1
TOP: Critical Reading
A
PTS: 1
DIF: easy
OBJ: Vocabulary
PA.LA.R.7.A.1.2.1 | PA.LA.R.7.A.1.3.1 | PA.LA.R.7.A.2.1.2 | PA.LA.R.7.A.2.6.2
Vocabulary and Grammar
B
PTS: 1
DIF: easy
OBJ: Grammar
PA.LA.W.1.7
TOP: Vocabulary and Grammar
C
PTS: 1
DIF: easy
OBJ: Grammar
PA.LA.W.1.7
TOP: Vocabulary and Grammar
A
PTS: 1
DIF: average
OBJ: Vocabulary
PA.LA.R.7.A.1.2.1 | PA.LA.R.7.A.1.3.1 | PA.LA.R.7.A.2.1.2 | PA.LA.R.7.A.2.6.2
Vocabulary and Grammar
C
PTS: 1
DIF: challenging OBJ: Vocabulary
PA.LA.R.7.A.1.2.1 | PA.LA.R.7.A.1.3.1 | PA.LA.R.7.A.2.1.2 | PA.LA.R.7.A.2.6.2
Vocabulary and Grammar
A
PTS: 1
DIF: average
OBJ: Grammar
PA.LA.W.1.7
TOP: Vocabulary and Grammar
C
PTS: 1
DIF: challenging OBJ: Grammar
PA.LA.W.1.7
TOP: Vocabulary and Grammar
D
PTS: 1
DIF: average
OBJ: Comprehension
PA.LA.R.7.A.1
TOP: Critical Reading
A
PTS: 1
DIF: average
OBJ: Interpretation
PA.LA.R.7.B.1.1
TOP: Critical Reading
B
PTS: 1
DIF: average
OBJ: Comprehension
PA.LA.R.7.A.1
TOP: Critical Reading
21. ANS:
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B
PTS:
PA.LA.R.7.B.2.1.2 |
D
PTS:
PA.LA.R.7.A.1
C
PTS:
PA.LA.R.7.B.1.1
B
PTS:
PA.LA.R.7.B.2.1.2 |
C
PTS:
PA.LA.R.7.A.1
C
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PA.LA.R.7.B.2.1.2 |
B
PTS:
PA.LA.R.7.A.1
C
PTS:
PA.LA.R.7.A.1
C
PTS:
PA.LA.R.7.B.2.1.2 |
1
DIF:
PA.LA.R.7.B.3.1.1
1
DIF:
TOP:
1
DIF:
TOP:
1
DIF:
PA.LA.R.7.B.3.1.1
1
DIF:
TOP:
1
DIF:
PA.LA.R.7.B.3.1.1
1
DIF:
TOP:
1
DIF:
TOP:
1
DIF:
PA.LA.R.7.B.3.1.1
average
OBJ:
TOP:
average
OBJ:
Critical Reading
average
OBJ:
Critical Reading
challenging OBJ:
TOP:
challenging OBJ:
Critical Reading
challenging OBJ:
TOP:
average
OBJ:
Critical Reading
average
OBJ:
Critical Reading
average
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TOP:
Literary Analysis
Critical Reading
Comprehension
Interpretation
Literary Analysis
Critical Reading
Reading
Literary Analysis
Critical Reading
Reading
Reading
Literary Analysis
Critical Reading
ESSAY
30. ANS:
Students should point to Margot's pale skin, and the washed-out colors of her eyes, lips, and hair. They might
also mention her ghostlike voice. Margot is also weak willed—she allows herself to be shoved by one of the
boys in her class. In addition, she does not like to play, she shuns the others' games, and she comes alive only
when talking about, writing about, or looking forward to seeing the sun.
PTS: 1
DIF: easy
OBJ: Essay
STA: PA.LA.W.1.4.8.B
31. ANS:
Students should state that the setting is the planet Venus, where it rains incessantly for years on end, with the
sun shining for only a couple of hours every seven years. They might mention the forests, the underground
city, and the constant noise of the rainfall. In describing the mood, they will likely describe a gloominess.
Finally, students should recognize that the setting in effect creates the mood of the story.
PTS: 1
32. ANS:
DIF: easy
OBJ: Essay
STA: PA.LA.W.1.4.8.B
Expect students to refer to images but not to use direct quotations from the story. Students should include in
their essays a statement relating the images to their experience of the setting. Some images (including direct
quotations) are presented here: For sight, they might refer to gold, “a yellow crayon or a coin large enough to
buy the world with,” Margot's washed-out appearance, the trembling closet door, the sun “very large” and
“the color of flaming bronze,” the sky “a blazing blue tile color,” the jungle “a nest of octopi, clustering up
great arms of fleshlike weed, wavering,” “the color of rubber and ash,” “the color of stones and white cheeses
and ink,” “the color of the moon,” the jungle as a “mattress,” the children standing “like so many stakes,” and
the “blue and terrible” lightning. For sound, they might remember the children stirring at night, “the tatting
drum, the endless shaking down of clear bead necklaces upon the roof,” and so on, Margot's ghostlike voice,
her screams in the shower rooms, her “muffled cries” from behind the closet door, the absence of sound when
the rain stops, the children's laughter, the “sigh and squeak” of the jungle vegetation, the “boom of thunder,”
“the gigantic sound of the rain falling in tons and avalanches,” the silence behind the closet door. For touch,
they might refer to “a warmness, like a blushing in the face,” and so on, “the sun on their cheeks like a warm
iron,” the cold drops of rain on their noses, cheeks, and mouths.
PTS: 1
DIF: challenging OBJ: Essay
STA: PA.LA.W.1.4.8.B
33. ANS:
Students should refer to some of these differences: Margot has lived on Earth, while they have lived on Venus
all their lives; she remembers what the sun looks and feels like, while they cannot recall it; she does not want
to play their games because she misses the sun so much; she is pale and silent and thin. They resent her for
setting herself apart from them; they resent that she knows what the sun is like; they resent that her parents
will take her back to Earth while they must remain on Venus.
PTS: 1
DIF: average
OBJ: Essay
STA: PA.LA.W.1.4.8.B