Comprehension Test

I, Robot – Short Stories

Isaac Asimov

1 Which story do these sentences come from? Reason, Catch that Rabbit, Liar!, Little Lost
Robot, Runaround.
a ‘Mike, we’re trapped! Our own roof fell!’ ...............
b Death by slow boiling is not a pleasant way to die. ...............
c ‘I see into human minds, you see.’ ...............
d ‘My third “finger” has been destroyed.’ ...............
e ‘He can control the station. What does it matter what he believes?’ ...............
f ‘Nestor 10 knew that we had lied.’ ...............
g ‘There is only one Master, and Cutie is his messenger.’ ...............
h ‘The more he wins, the more dangerous he gets.’ ...............
i ‘You hate me! But I was trying to help you!’ ...............
j ‘It’s life or death, Speedy.’ ...............

20 marks

2 Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?

a Dr Calvin worked with robots all her life.

b Powell jumped into the selenium pool to cool down.
c Cutie couldn’t believe that human beings had made him.
d Cutie thought the energy converter was the Master.
e Dave went wrong when humans were near.
f US Robots made RB-34 to read human minds.
g Herbie gave people the answers they wanted.
h Nestor 10 disappeared after a fight.
i Nestor 10 was destroyed when he tried to attack Dr Calvin.
j Byerley was the last World Governor.

20 marks

3 Put the following events in the story in the right order. Number them 1–5.

a The subsidiaries stopped dancing.

b Powell and Donovan changed Dave’s circuits to stop him acting crazy.

Oxford Bookworms Library Stage 5 1

 c Powell fired his gun and hit one of the subsidiaries.
d The robots came to move the rocks away.
e Powell and Donovan got trapped in a tunnel.

20 marks

4 Fill in the gaps using these words: hurt, novels, loved, crazy, Managing Director, feelings,
Bogert, read, truth, Dr Calvin.
RB-34 could ............... minds. He learnt about ............... by reading ................ He told ...............

that Milton Ashe ............... her. He told ............... that he was the next ............... . But when he

had to ............... the scientists by telling the ..............., he went ............... .

20 marks

5 In the story Evidence, three tests were used to find out whether Stephen Byerley was a
robot. Describe the three tests and their results.
....................................................................................
....................................................................................
....................................................................................
....................................................................................
....................................................................................
....................................................................................
....................................................................................
....................................................................................
....................................................................................
....................................................................................
....................................................................................
....................................................................................
20 marks

Total marks

Oxford Bookworms Library Stage 5 2

Multiple-choice Test

I, Robot – Short Stories

Isaac Asimov

Setting

Choose the best answer.

1 For fifty years Dr Calvin had _____.
a [ ] wanted to leave US Robots b [ ] studied at Colombia University
c [ ] watched the development of robots d [ ] made robots
2 Dr Calvin thought that robots were _____ creatures.
a [ ] cleaner and better b [ ] slow and bad c [ ] kind and nice d [ ] slow and lazy
3 One of the reasons that the first expedition to Mercury failed was because _____.
a [ ] the equipment was old b [ ] the radio wouldn’t work
c [ ] the robots didn’t work d [ ] they got lost
4 Powell and Donovan had only been on Mercury for _____ and already things had gone wrong.
a [ ] twelve hours b [ ] twelve days c [ ] twelve minutes d [ ] twelve seconds
5 Powell and Donovan were sent to Mercury to repair the _____.
a [ ] robots b [ ] insosuits c [ ] maps d [ ] photocell banks
6 All the robots on the lowest sublevel of Mercury were _____.
a [ ] lost b [ ] with Speedy c [ ] over three metres tall d [ ] very fast
7 The insosuits would protect them for twenty minutes in _____.
a [ ] the selenium pool b [ ] the Station c [ ] direct sunlight d [ ] the sublevels
8 Powell and Donovan came out at exit 13A, _____ kilometres from the selenium pool.
a [ ] five b [ ] fifteen c [ ] fifty d [ ] fifty-five
9 There were seats on the robots and _____ to hold on to.
a [ ] two arms b [ ] two long ears c [ ] a head d [ ] long hair
10 The Three Laws of _____ are built in to a robot’s brain.
a [ ] Mathematics b [ ] Gravity c [ ] Robotics d [ ] Mercury

20 marks

Characters

Choose the best answer.

11 Susan Calvin was a cold girl, _____, who disliked the world around her.
Oxford Bookworms Library Stage 5 3
 a [ ] happy and talkative b [ ] shy and nervous
c [ ] plain and colourless d [ ] dark and mysterious
12 Susan Calvin was leaving work at the age of _____.
a [ ] sixty-five b [ ] seventy-five c [ ] seventy d [ ] sixty
13 The reporter worked for a newspaper with _____ readers.
a [ ] two million b [ ] three million c [ ] two billion d [ ] three billion
14 At the age of twenty, Dr Calvin had met _____.
a [ ] Mike Donovan b [ ] Greg Powell c [ ] Speedy the robot d [ ] Alfred Lanning
15 Mike Donovan had _____ hair.
a [ ] brown b [ ] red c [ ] black d [ ] blond
16 Speedy was a _____ type robot.
a [ ] SPD-13 b [ ] STD-13 c [ ] PTS-13 d [ ] PSD-13
17 Cutie was the first robot who had ever been _____.
a [ ] curious about himself b [ ] intelligent c [ ] able to speak d [ ] to Mercury
18 Milton Ashe was the _____ of US Robots Company.
a [ ] youngest director b [ ] oldest director c [ ] Head of Mathematics d [ ] Head
Psychologist
19 Alfred Lanning was nearly seventy and had been _____ for thirty years.
a [ ] Managing Director b [ ] a Psychologist c [ ] Head of Robots d [ ] in Finance
20 Peter Bogert was a _____.
a [ ] psychologist b [ ] robot c [ ] scientist d [ ] mathematician

20 marks

Dialogue

Who said this?

21 ‘There was a time when human beings faced the world alone and without a friend.’
a [ ] the reporter b [ ] Dr Calvin c [ ] Mike Powell d [ ] Dr Lanning
22 ‘It’s life or death, Speedy. I need you.’
a [ ] Mike Powell b [ ] Greg Donovan c [ ] Dr Calvin d [ ] Dr Lanning
23 ‘There should be a better explanation. It seems improbable that you made me!’
a [ ] Speedy b [ ] Dave c [ ] Cutie d [ ] Herbie
24 ‘We must discover the problem before we can solve it.’
a [ ] Greg Donovan b [ ] Dr Calvin c [ ] Cutie d [ ] Mike Powell
25 ‘Boss? Where are you? My third ‘finger’ has been destroyed.’
a [ ] Dave b [ ] Cutie c [ ] Herbie d [ ] Speedy
Oxford Bookworms Library Stage 5 4
 26 ‘A positronic brain is very complicated. It involves 75,234 separate operations in the factory in
order to produce one positronic brain.’
a [ ] Milton Ashe b [ ] Susan Calvin c [ ] Peter Bogert d [ ] Alfred Lanning
27 ‘We’ve got a mind-reading robot and it’s important that we discover the reason.’
a [ ] Susan Calvin b [ ] Alfred Lanning c [ ] Milton Ashe d [ ] Peter Bogert
28 ‘He knows everything, including the mistake which was made in the factory when he was being
produced.’
a [ ] Susan Calvin b [ ] Milton Ashe c [ ] Alfred Lanning d [ ] Peter Bogert
29 ‘My first experience with space travel and atomic engine development was in 2029, when a
robot was lost…’
a [ ] Peter Bogert b [ ] Susan Calvin c [ ] Milton Ashe d [ ] Alfred Lanning
30 ‘The locks of the robots’ room have been damaged. I think Nestor 10 is trying to escape.’
a [ ] Peter Bogert b [ ] Susan Calvin c [ ] General Kallner d [ ] Gerald Black

20 marks

Vocabulary

Choose the best answer.

31 a strong reason for believing something
a [ ] brain b [ ] evidence c [ ] protection d [ ] vibration
32 a line of light or heat
a [ ] beam b [ ] bar c [ ] battery d [ ] circuit
33 connected to, but of less importance than something else
a [ ] serial number b [ ] converter c [ ] electron d [ ] subsidiary
34 a sign like the letter X
a [ ] dot b [ ] cross c [ ] flash d [ ] number
35 a man who controls people, animals or things
a [ ] Master b [ ] mathematician c [ ] liar d [ ] psychologist
36 the ability to realize what needs to be done, and do it without help or advice
a [ ] protection b [ ] admit c [ ] initiative d [ ] conflict
37 when people vote to choose who to govern them
a [ ] electron b [ ] mine c [ ] protect d [ ] election
38 rock from which metal can be taken
a [ ] ore b [ ] photocell c [ ] planet d [ ] Mercury
39 a metal case which contains and supplies energy
a [ ] cable b [ ] battery c [ ] gravity d [ ] atomic
Oxford Bookworms Library Stage 5 5
 40 the sending out of energy in rays
a [ ] oxygen b [ ] photocell bank c [ ] detonator d [ ] radiation

20 marks

Plot

Choose the best answer.

41 The reporter went to interview Dr Calvin to get _____.
a [ ] more information about Dr Lanning b [ ] more personal information
c [ ] information about Mercury d [ ] a new address
42 The Second Mercury Expedition was in _____.
a [ ] 2025 b [ ] 2015 c [ ] 2105 d [ ] 2125
43 Powell and Donovan had to fix robot _____.
a [ ] QT-1 b [ ] TQ-1 c [ ] QP-1 d [ ] QC-1
44 Powell and Donovan were worried about what was going to happen when the _____ storm hit
them.
a [ ] photocell b [ ] positronic c [ ] gravity d [ ] electron
45 After listening to stories about engineers, the reporter wanted to know if anything ever
happened on _____.
a [ ] Mercury b [ ] the asteroids c [ ] Earth d [ ] the sun
46 Susan Calvin wanted to destroy 63 robots because _____.
a [ ] one was lying b [ ] one was bad c [ ] one was speaking d [ ] they were old
47 Before he became City Governor, Stephen Byerley was a _____.
a [ ] lawyer b [ ] reporter c [ ] scientist d [ ] mathematician
48 Francis Quinn believed that Byerley was a robot because he _____.
a [ ] looked like one b [ ] had a positronic brain
c [ ] didn’t sleep d [ ] didn’t eat or drink
49 Byerley wore special clothes to _____.
a [ ] make him look like a robot b [ ] look better in photographs
c [ ] prevent x-ray photographs d [ ] prevent robots attacking him
50 Byerley _____ in front of millions of people.
a [ ] hit a man on the chin b [ ] ate an apple c [ ] took a photo d [ ] shot a man

20 marks

Total marks

Oxford Bookworms Library Stage 5 6

I, Robot - Short Stories
1 a Catch that Rabbit
b Runaround
c Liar!
d Catch that Rabbit
e Reason
f Little Lost Robot
g Reason
h Little Lost Robot
i Liar!
j Runaround

2 a T f F
b F g T
c T h F
d T i T
e F j F

3 3 a
5 b
2 c
4 d
1 e

4 read, feelings, novels, Dr Calvin, loved, Bogert, Managing Director, hurt, truth, crazy

5 Robots don’t eat, so they gave him an apple, but he ate it.
They took a secret X-ray of his body, but it showed nothing because he was wearing special
clothes.
A man told Byerley to hit him, because a robot would not hit a human being. Byerley did hit the
man, and then everybody believed that Byerley was human.

Oxford Bookworms Library Stage 5 7

I, Robot – Short Stories
Setting
1 d
2 a
3 b
4 a
5 d
6 c
7 c
8 a
9 b
10 c

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

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

Vocabulary

Oxford Bookworms Library Stage 5 8

 31 b
32 a
33 d
34 b
35 a
36 c
37 d
38 a
39 b
40 d

Plot
41 b
42 b
43 a
44 d
45 c
46 a
47 a
48 d
49 c
50 a

Oxford Bookworms Library Stage 5 9