Tales of Mystery and Imagination COMPREHENSION TEST 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. 4 20 marks Match a word from A with a definition from B. 20 marks A 1 2 3 4 5 evil mad terror horror imagination 5 Fill in the gaps using: axe, cloak, dragon, lantern, sword. a In Roderick Usher’s 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. 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 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? .......................................................................... b What changed the narrator in The Black Cat from a quiet gentle man into a violent one? .......................................................................... c Where did the light for Prince Prospero’s seven rooms come from? .......................................................................... d In which city did William Wilson kill the other William Wilson? .......................................................................... e Where did the murderer put the old man’s body and his ‘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.’ ............... 2 Edgar Allan Poe 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). 20 marks 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? ............... Total marks 20 marks oxford bookworms library STAge 3 36 © oxford university press photocopiable Tales of Mystery and Imagination 12 Roderick Usher had to choose his clothes very carefully because . a F most of them hurt his skin b F he was very tall c F his sister was ill d F he didn’t like black 13 Lady Madeleine’s coffin was taken to . a F the lake b F her bedroom c F the vaults d F her brother’s bedroom 14 The man with the black cat got married . a F when he was quite young b F three times c F when he was old d F to a woman who did not like animals 15 Prince Prospero invited people to stay in one of his castles. a F a hundred b F two hundred c F two thousand d F a thousand 16 Prince Prospero tried to kill the masked stranger with . a F a sword b F an axe c F his hands d F a rope 17 The only strange thing about William Wilson was his . a F clothing b F voice c F hair d F face 18 Glendinning met the writer . a F in Rome b F at a party c F playing cards d F at university 19 The old man had a eye, the eye of a vulture. a F green b F blue c F red d F black 20 The writer hid the old man’s body . a F under the wooden floor b F behind the wall in the cellar c F in a coffin in the vaults d F in the garden Setting Choose the best answer. M U LT I p L e - C H O I C e T e sT Edgar Allan Poe 1 The writer visited the House of Usher on . a F a beautiful summer day b F a cold winter night c F a grey autumn day d F a sunny spring afternoon 2 When he saw the House of Usher the writer felt . a F happy b F sad c F ill d F terrible 3 Life changed for the man with the black cat when he . a F got married b F met his wife c F started drinking heavily d F started playing with animals 4 The man with the black cat felt sadness and pain when he thought of . a F killing his wife b F hanging the cat from the tree c F cutting the cat’s eye from its socket d F hiding his wife’s body 5 Everybody was afraid of the Red Death because people . a F wore red masks b F had to wear red clothes c F started to bleed from every part of their bodies d F died when they saw the colour 6 At Prince Prospero’s ball every man and woman was dressed . a F like a terrible dream b F in red c F in white d F in beautiful clothes 7 The writer in the story of William Wilson only listened to . a F himself b F his friends c F his parents d F William Wilson 8 William Wilson was different to the other boys at school because he the writer of the story. a F was the best friend of b F refused to obey c F didn’t play with d F didn’t talk to 9 Every night the man opened the old man’s door to put his inside the room. a F head b F foot c F lantern d F bed 10 On the night he started opening the door even more carefully. a F second b F seventh c F eighth d F tenth 20 marks Dialogue Who said or thought this? 21 ‘You will probably not see her again alive.’ a F Lady Madeleine b F the family doctor c F Roderick Usher d F the writer 22 ‘Let’s close the window and read together.’ a F Roderick Usher b F the writer c F Lady Madeleine d F the family doctor 23 ‘The next day I went back into the house and I saw several people standing in a group, looking at a wall.’ a F a policeman b F the writer c F the writer’s wife d F a neighbour 20 marks Characters Choose the best answer. 11 Roderick Usher was the in his family. a F only one with children b F last living man c F richest man d F poorest man oxford bookworms library stage 3 106 © oxford university press photocopiable Tales of Mystery and Imagination 24 ‘Do you see how well built this house is? These walls, you will notice, are very strong.’ a F the writer’s wife b F a neighbour c F a policeman d F the writer 25 ‘Who is mad enough to play games with us, and with death, in this way?’ a F the Red Death b F the writer c F Prince Prospero d F a friend 26 ‘Let’s double the stakes.’ a F Glendinning b F Mr Preston c F the writer d F William Wilson 27 ‘I have had enough trouble from you! This is the last time you’ll follow me anywhere!’ a F Glendinning b F the writer c F William Wilson d F the Duke Di Broglio 28 ‘You have won, and I have lost. But from this moment you, too, are dead – dead to the world, to Heaven, and to hope!’ a F William Wilson b F Glendinning c F Mr Preston d F the Duke Di Broglio 29 ‘And then I heard a sound. Hadn’t I told you that my hearing was excellent?’ a F the old man b F the writer c F a policeman d F a neighbour 30 ‘Stop pretending that you cannot hear it!’ a F the neighbour b F a policeman c F the old man d F the writer Edgar Allan Poe 39 to move suddenly by accident, and fall or almost fall a F slip b F plunge c F throw d F whisper 40 the sound of a bell in a clock a F advice b F chime c F outlined d F paint 20 marks Plot 41 Lady Madeleine was Roderick Usher’s . a F mother b F sister c F daughter d F friend 42 Roderick Usher was killed by . a F the writer b F his own terror c F his illness d F Ethelred 43 The black cat had the shape of on its chest. a F the gallows b F an axe c F a vulture d F a mask 44 The man killed his wife with an axe because . a F she wanted to leave him b F she stopped him killing the cat c F she didn’t want to go to the cellar d F she killed the cat 45 When the man with the black cat killed his wife he hid her body . a F in the vaults b F in the lake c F under the wooden floor d F behind the walls of the cellar 46 Prince Prospero was in when he saw the masked stranger. a F the cellar b F his bedroom c F the blue room d F the vaults 47 The Prince’s friends were all too frightened to the masked stranger. a F touch b F look at c F talk to d F run towards 48 lost everything he had playing cards. a F William Wilson b F The writer c F Mr Preston d F Glendinning 49 The writer realized that every time Wilson appeared he had never seen his . a F cloak b F face c F mask d F clothes 50 The writer put his on the place where he had hidden the body. a F bed b F foot c F chair d F ears 20 marks Vocabulary Choose the best answer. 31 a feeling of deep sadness and hopelessness a F anger b F gloom c F evil d F mad 32 not kind; bringing pain or trouble to someone a F cruel b F crack c F horror d F terror 33 very great fear a F mad b F hell c F terror d F horrible 34 a narrow way in a building a F passage b F vault c F cellar d F plaster 35 a thin line of light a F chime b F candle c F ray d F mask 36 a wide loose coat without sleeves a F cloak b F chest c F crack d F chime 37 a big dangerous animal with fire in its mouth, which lives only in stories a F vulture b F plunge c F dragon d F evil 38 with little colour in the face a F mask b F tears c F socket d F pale 20 marks Total marks oxford bookworms library stage 3 107 © oxford university press photocopiable M U LT I p L e - C H O I C e T e sT Choose the best answer.
