Comprehension Test

Tales of Mystery and Imagination

Edgar Allan Poe 1 Which 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 2 Match a word from A with a definition from B. A 1 2 3 4 5 B a A feeling of great fear or dislike b Making pictures in your mind c Very bad, very wrong d With a sick mind e Very great fear 20 marks 3 Use 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? ............... Oxford Bookworms Library Stage 3 1 Evil Mad Terror Horror Imagination

e ... could only eat food that almost had no taste? ............... 20 marks 4 Answer these questions. There is one about each of the stories. a What was next to the House of Usher, and finally closed over it?
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b What changed the narrator in The Black Cat from a quiet gentle man into a violent one?
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c Where did the light for Prince Prosperos seven rooms come from?
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d In which city did William Wilson kill the other William Wilson?
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e Where did the murderer put the old mans body and his tell-tale heart?
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20 marks 5 Fill in the gaps using: axe, cloak, dragon, lantern, sword. a In Roderick Ushers favourite book, The Sad, Mad life of Sir Launcelot Canning, Ethelred fights a ..............., with fire coming out of its mouth. b The narrator of The Black Cat kills his wife with an ................ c William Wilson had a very unusual and expensive ..............., which a shop made specially for him. d William Wilson killed the other William Wilson with a ................ e The murderer in The Tell-Tale Heart looked at the old man with a ............... at night. 20 marks

Total marks

Oxford Bookworms Library Stage 3

Multiple-choice Test

Tales of Mystery and Imagination

Edgar Allan Poe

Setting
Choose the best answer. 1 The writer visited the House of Usher on _____. a [ ] a beautiful summer day c [ ] a grey autumn day a [ ] happy b [ ] sad b [ ] a cold winter night d [ ] a sunny spring afternoon c [ ] ill d [ ] terrible

2 When he saw the House of Usher the writer felt _____. 3 Life 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 4 The 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 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 6 At Prince Prosperos ball every man and woman was dressed _____. a [ ] like a terrible dream b [ ] in red c [ ] in white d [ ] in beautiful clothes 7 The writer in the story of William Wilson only listened to _____. a [ ] himself b [ ] his friends story. a [ ] was the best friend of c [ ] didnt play with a [ ] head a [ ] second b [ ] foot b [ ] refused to obey d [ ] didnt talk to c [ ] lantern d [ ] bed d [ ] tenth 3 c [ ] his parents d [ ] William Wilson 8 William Wilson was different to the other boys at school because he _____ the writer of the d [ ] hiding his wifes body 5 Everybody was afraid of the Red Death because people _____.

9 Every night the man opened the old mans door to put his _____ inside the room. 10 On the _____ night he started opening the door even more carefully. b [ ] seventh c [ ] eighth

Oxford Bookworms Library Stage 3

20 marks

Characters
Choose the best answer. 11 Roderick Usher was the _____ in his family. a [ ] only one with children c [ ] richest man b [ ] last living man d [ ] poorest man

12 Roderick 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 13 Lady Madeleines coffin was taken to _____. a [ ] the lake b [ ] her bedroom c [ ] the vaults d [ ] her brothers bedroom 14 The man with the black cat got married _____. a [ ] when he was quite young c [ ] when he was old a [ ] a hundred a [ ] a sword a [ ] clothing a [ ] in Rome a [ ] green b [ ] three times d [ ] to a woman who did not like animals c [ ] two thousand d [ ] a rope d [ ] a thousand

15 Prince Prospero invited _____ people to stay in one of his castles. b [ ] two hundred b [ ] an axe b [ ] voice 16 Prince Prospero tried to kill the masked stranger with _____. c [ ] his hands c [ ] hair 17 The only strange thing about William Wilson was his _____. d [ ] face d [ ] at university 18 Glendinning met the writer _____. b [ ] at a party c [ ] playing cards d [ ] black 19 The old man had a _____ eye, the eye of a vulture. b [ ] blue c [ ] red 20 The writer hid the old mans body _____. a [ ] under the wooden floor c [ ] in a coffin in the vaults 20 marks b [ ] behind the wall in the cellar d [ ] in the garden

Dialogue
Who said or thought this? 21 You will probably not see her again alive. a [ ] Lady Madeleine b [ ] the family doctor 4 Oxford Bookworms Library Stage 3

c [ ] Roderick Usher a [ ] Roderick Usher c [ ] Lady Madeleine at a wall. a [ ] a policeman

d [ ] the writer b [ ] the writer d [ ] the family doctor

22 Lets close the window and read together.

23 The next day I went back into the house and I saw several people standing in a group, looking b [ ] the writer c [ ] the writers wife d [ ] a neighbour c [ ] a policeman d [ ] the writer d [ ] a friend

24 Do you see how well built this house is? These walls, you will notice, are very strong. a [ ] the writers wife a [ ] the Red Death b [ ] a neighbour b [ ] the writer 25 Who is mad enough to play games with us, and with death, in this way? c [ ] Prince Prospero c [ ] the writer 26 Lets double the stakes. a [ ] Glendinning b [ ] Mr Preston a [ ] Glendinning b [ ] the writer c [ ] William Wilson to Heaven, and to hope! a [ ] William Wilson c [ ] Mr Preston b [ ] Glendinning d [ ] the Duke Di Broglio c [ ] a policeman d [ ] a neighbour c [ ] the old man d [ ] the writer d [ ] the Duke Di Broglio 28 You have won, and I have lost. But from this moment you, too, are dead dead to the world, d [ ] William Wilson 27 I have had enough trouble from you! This is the last time youll follow me anywhere!

29 And then I heard a sound. Hadnt I told you that my hearing was excellent? a [ ] the old man b [ ] the writer a [ ] the neighbour 20 marks 30 Stop pretending that you cannot hear it! b [ ] a policeman

Vocabulary
Choose the best answer. 31 a feeling of deep sadness and hopelessness a [ ] anger a [ ] cruel a [ ] mad b [ ] gloom b [ ] crack c [ ] evil d [ ] mad c [ ] horror d [ ] terror 32 not kind; bringing pain or trouble to someone 33 very great fear b [ ] hell c [ ] terror d [ ] horrible 34 a narrow way in a building Oxford Bookworms Library Stage 3 5

a [ ] passage

b [ ] vault

c [ ] cellar c [ ] ray c [ ] crack

d [ ] plaster

35 a thin line of light a [ ] chime b [ ] candle a [ ] cloak a [ ] vulture a [ ] mask b [ ] chest d [ ] mask d [ ] chime d [ ] evil 36 a wide loose coat without sleeves 37 a big dangerous animal with fire in its mouth, which lives only in stories b [ ] plunge b [ ] tears c [ ] dragon 38 with little colour in the face c [ ] socket c [ ] throw d [ ] pale d [ ] whisper d [ ] paint 39 to move suddenly by accident, and fall or almost fall a [ ] slip b [ ] plunge a [ ] advice b [ ] chime 40 the sound of a bell in a clock c [ ] outlined

20 marks

Plot
Choose the best answer. 41 Lady Madeleine was Roderick Ushers _____. a [ ] mother a [ ] the writer a [ ] the gallows b [ ] sister c [ ] daughter d [ ] friend 42 Roderick Usher was killed by _____. b [ ] his own terror b [ ] an axe c [ ] his illness d [ ] Ethelred d [ ] a mask 43 The black cat had the shape of _____ on its chest. c [ ] a vulture 44 The 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 a [ ] in the vaults b [ ] in the lake d [ ] behind the walls of the cellar c [ ] the blue room d [ ] the vaults d [ ] she killed the cat 45 When the man with the black cat killed his wife he hid her body _____. c [ ] under the wooden floor a [ ] the cellar a [ ] touch

46 Prince Prospero was in _____ when he saw the masked stranger. b [ ] his bedroom 47 The Princes friends were all too frightened to _____ the masked stranger. b [ ] look at c [ ] talk to d [ ] run towards c [ ] Mr Preston 6 d [ ] Glendinning 48 _____ lost everything he had playing cards. a [ ] William Wilson b [ ] The writer

Oxford Bookworms Library Stage 3

49 The writer realized that every time Wilson appeared he had never seen his _____. a [ ] cloak a [ ] bed b [ ] face b [ ] foot c [ ] mask c [ ] chair d [ ] clothes d [ ] ears 50 The writer put his _____ on the place where he had hidden the body.

20 marks

Total marks

Oxford Bookworms Library Stage 3

Tales of Mystery and Imagination

1 a William Wilson b The Black Cat c The Fall of the House of Usher d The Tell-Tale Heart e The Masque of the Red Death 2 1 c 2 d 3 e 4 a 5 b 3 a William Wilson (the narrator) b The old man c Lady Madeleine Usher d The stranger e Roderick Usher 4 a A lake b He became a heavy drinker c Fires in the passages outside the rooms d Rome e Under the floor 5 a dragon b axe c cloak d sword e lantern

Oxford Bookworms Library Stage 3

Tales of Mystery and Imagination

Setting 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 c b c c c c a b a c

Characters 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 b a c a d a b d b a

Dialogue 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 c b b d d a b a b d 9

Oxford Bookworms Library Stage 3

Vocabulary 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 Plot 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 b b a b d c a d b c b a c a c a c d a b

Oxford Bookworms Library Stage 3

10