new ob w tales mystery test

Tales of Mystery and Imagination

Comprehension Test


Edgar Allan Poe

1Which of the five stories do the following sentences come from? The Fall of the House of Usher, The Black Cat, The Masque of the Red Death, William Wilson, The Tell-Tale Heart.

a At Oxford I spent a lot of my time gambling. ...............

b I decided to hide the body behind the walls of the cellar. ...............

c He painted strange pictures, and sang mysterious songs with wild words. ...............

d I opened the lantern a little and a thin ray of light fell on his eye. ...............

e But no one was brave enough now to enter the black room. ...............

20 marks

2Match a word from A with a definition from B.

A

1 Evil

2 Mad

3 Terror

4 Horror

5 Imagination

B

aA feeling of great fear or dislike

bMaking pictures in your mind

cVery bad, very wrong

dWith a sick mind

eVery great fear

20 marks

3Use these five names to answer the questions: Roderick Usher, Lady Madeleine Usher, the stranger (in The Masque of the Red Death), William Wilson (the narrator), the old man (in The Tell-Tale Heart).

Who ...

a...nearly took all the money of a man called Glendinning? ...............

b...had a pale blue eye like the eye of a vulture? ...............

c...was buried alive in a vault under an old house? ..............

d...had the face of a dead man, covered with blood? ...............

e...could only eat food that almost had no taste? ...............

20 marks

4Answer these questions. There is one about each of the stories.

aWhat was next to the House of Usher, and finally closed over it?

bWhat changed the narrator in The Black Cat from a quiet gentle man into a violent one?

cWhere did the light for Prince Prosperos seven rooms come from?

dIn which city did William Wilson kill the other William Wilson?

eWhere did the murderer put the old mans body and his tell-tale heart?

20 marks

5Fill in the gaps using: axe, cloak, dragon, lantern, sword.

aIn Roderick Ushers favourite book, The Sad, Mad life of Sir Launcelot Canning, Ethelred fights a ..............., with fire coming out of its mouth.

bThe narrator of The Black Cat kills his wife with an ................

cWilliam Wilson had a very unusual and expensive ..............., which a shop made specially for him.

dWilliam Wilson killed the other William Wilson with a ................

eThe murderer in The Tell-Tale Heart looked at the old man with a ............... at night.

20 marks

Total marks

Multiple-choice Test


Edgar Allan Poe

Setting

Choose the best answer.

1The writer visited the House of Usher on _____.

a [ ] a beautiful summer day b [ ] a cold winter night

c [ ] a grey autumn day d [ ] a sunny spring afternoon

2When he saw the House of Usher the writer felt _____.

a [ ] happy b [ ] sad c [ ] ill d [ ] terrible

3Life changed for the man with the black cat when he _____.

a [ ] got married b [ ] met his wife

c [ ] started drinking heavily d [ ] started playing with animals

4The man with the black cat felt sadness and pain when he thought of _____.

a [ ] killing his wife b [ ] hanging the cat from the tree

c [ ] cutting the cats eye from its socket d [ ] hiding his wifes body

5Everybody was afraid of the Red Death because people _____.

a [ ] wore red masks

b [ ] had to wear red clothes

c [ ] started to bleed from every part of their bodies

d [ ] died when they saw the colour

6At Prince Prosperos ball every man and woman was dressed _____.

a [ ] like a terrible dream b [ ] in red c [ ] in white d [ ] in beautiful clothes

7The writer in the story of William Wilson only listened to _____.

a [ ] himself b [ ] his friends c [ ] his parents d [ ] William Wilson

8William Wilson was different to the other boys at school because he _____ the writer of the story.

a [ ] was the best friend of b [ ] refused to obey

c [ ] didnt play with d [ ] didnt talk to

9Every night the man opened the old mans door to put his _____ inside the room.

a [ ] head b [ ] foot c [ ] lantern d [ ] bed

10On the _____ night he started opening the door even more carefully.

a [ ] second b [ ] seventh c [ ] eighth d [ ] tenth

20 marks

Characters


11Roderick Usher was the _____ in his family.

a [ ] only one with children b [ ] last living man

c [ ] richest man d [ ] poorest man

12Roderick Usher had to choose his clothes very carefully because _____.

a [ ] most of them hurt his skin b [ ] he was very tall

c [ ] his sister was ill d [ ] he didnt like black

13Lady Madeleines coffin was taken to _____.

a [ ] the lake b [ ] her bedroom c [ ] the vaults d [ ] her brothers bedroom

14The man with the black cat got married _____.

a [ ] when he was quite young b [ ] three times

c [ ] when he was old d [ ] to a woman who did not like animals

15Prince Prospero invited _____ people to stay in one of his castles.

a [ ] a hundred b [ ] two hundred c [ ] two thousand d [ ] a thousand

16Prince Prospero tried to kill the masked stranger with _____.

a [ ] a sword b [ ] an axe c [ ] his hands d [ ] a rope

17The only strange thing about William Wilson was his _____.

a [ ] clothing b [ ] voice c [ ] hair d [ ] face

18Glendinning met the writer _____.

a [ ] in Rome b [ ] at a party c [ ] playing cards d [ ] at university

19The old man had a _____ eye, the eye of a vulture.

a [ ] green b [ ] blue c [ ] red d [ ] black

20The writer hid the old mans body _____.

a [ ] under the wooden floor b [ ] behind the wall in the cellar

c [ ] in a coffin in the vaults d [ ] in the garden

20 marks

Dialogue

Who said or thought this?

21You will probably not see her again alive.

a [ ] Lady Madeleine b [ ] the family doctor

c [ ] Roderick Usher d [ ] the writer

22Lets close the window and read together.

a [ ] Roderick Usher b [ ] the writer

c [ ] Lady Madeleine d [ ] the family doctor

23The next day I went back into the house and I saw several people standing in a group, looking at a wall.

a [ ] a policeman b [ ] the writer c [ ] the writers wife d [ ] a neighbour

24Do you see how well built this house is? These walls, you will notice, are very strong.

a [ ] the writers wife b [ ] a neighbour c [ ] a policeman d [ ] the writer

25Who is mad enough to play games with us, and with death, in this way?

a [ ] the Red Death b [ ] the writer c [ ] Prince Prospero d [ ] a friend

26Lets double the stakes.

a [ ] Glendinning b [ ] Mr Preston c [ ] the writer d [ ] William Wilson

27I have had enough trouble from you! This is the last time youll follow me anywhere!

a [ ] Glendinning b [ ] the writer

c [ ] William Wilson d [ ] the Duke Di Broglio

28You have won, and I have lost. But from this moment you, too, are dead dead to the world, to Heaven, and to hope!

a [ ] William Wilson b [ ] Glendinning

c [ ] Mr Preston d [ ] the Duke Di Broglio

29And then I heard a sound. Hadnt I told you that my hearing was excellent?

a [ ] the old man b [ ] the writer c [ ] a policeman d [ ] a neighbour

30Stop pretending that you cannot hear it!

a [ ] the neighbour b [ ] a policeman c [ ] the old man d [ ] the writer

20 marks

Vocabulary


31a feeling of deep sadness and hopelessness

a [ ] anger b [ ] gloom c [ ] evil d [ ] mad

32not kind; bringing pain or trouble to someone

a [ ] cruel b [ ] crack c [ ] horror d [ ] terror

33very great fear

a [ ] mad b [ ] hell c [ ] terror d [ ] horrible

34a narrow way in a building

a [ ] passage b [ ] vault c [ ] cellar d [ ] plaster

35a thin line of light

a [ ] chime b [ ] candle c [ ] ray d [ ] mask

36a wide loose coat without sleeves

a [ ] cloak b [ ] chest c [ ] crack d [ ] chime

37a big dangerous animal with fire in its mouth, which lives only in stories

a [ ] vulture b [ ] plunge c [ ] dragon d [ ] evil

38with little colour in the face

a [ ] mask b [ ] tears c [ ] socket d [ ] pale

39to move suddenly by accident, and fall or almost fall

a [ ] slip b [ ] plunge c [ ] throw d [ ] whisper

40the sound of a bell in a clock

a [ ] advice b [ ] chime c [ ] outlined d [ ] paint

20 marks

Plot


41Lady Madeleine was Roderick Ushers _____.

a [ ] mother b [ ] sister c [ ] daughter d [ ] friend

42Roderick Usher was killed by _____.

a [ ] the writer b [ ] his own terror c [ ] his illness d [ ] Ethelred

43The black cat had the shape of _____ on its chest.

a [ ] the gallows b [ ] an axe c [ ] a vulture d [ ] a mask

44The man killed his wife with an axe because _____.

a [ ] she wanted to leave him b [ ] she stopped him killing the cat

c [ ] she didnt want to go to the cellar d [ ] she killed the cat

45When the man with the black cat killed his wife he hid her body _____.

a [ ] in the vaults b [ ] in the lake

c [ ] under the wooden floor d [ ] behind the walls of the cellar

46Prince Prospero was in _____ when he saw the masked stranger.

a [ ] the cellar b [ ] his bedroom c [ ] the blue room d [ ] the vaults

47The Princes friends were all too frightened to _____ the masked stranger.

a [ ] touch b [ ] look at c [ ] talk to d [ ] run towards

48_____ lost everything he had playing cards.

a [ ] William Wilson b [ ] The writer c [ ] Mr Preston d [ ] Glendinning

49The writer realized that every time Wilson appeared he had never seen his _____.

a [ ] cloak b [ ] face c [ ] mask d [ ] clothes

50The writer put his _____ on the place where he had hidden the body.

a [ ] bed b [ ] foot c [ ] chair d [ ] ears

20 marks

Total marks


1aWilliam Wilson

bThe Black Cat

cThe Fall of the House of Usher

dThe Tell-Tale Heart

eThe Masque of the Red Death

21c

2d

3e

4a

5b

3a

William Wilson (the narrator)

bThe old man

cLady Madeleine Usher

dThe stranger

eRoderick Usher

4aA lake

bHe became a heavy drinker

cFires in the passages outside the rooms

dRome

eUnder the floor

5adragon

baxe

ccloak

dsword

elantern


Setting

1c

2b

3c

4c

5c

6c

7a

8b

9a

10c

Characters

11b

12a

13c

14a

15d

16a

17b

18d

19b

20a

Dialogue

21c

22b

23b

24d

25d

26a

27b

28a

29b

30d

Vocabulary

31b

32a

33c

34a

35c

36a

37c

38d

39a

40b

Plot

41b

42b

43a

44b

45d

46c

47a

48d

49b

50c

Oxford Bookworms Library Stage 31

new ob w tales mystery test

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