A Window on the Universe Summary 01
Zero Hours by Ray Bradbury
| No. | Page | Question | Answer | ||||||
| STORY ONE – Zero Hour | |||||||||
| 1 | 10 | At the beginning of the novel we are introduced to a group of children who are playing a game. What is this game called? | The game is called ‘Invasion’. | ||||||
| 2 | 10 | The fury and bustle of the game was occurring only among the younger children. From what age upwards constituted the ‘older children’? | 10 years old or more | ||||||
| 3 | 11 | Why doesn’t Mink want Joseph Connors to play the game? | She thinks that Joseph will make fun of them; that he will laugh and spoil the invasion. | ||||||
| 4 | 11 | ‘The adults really did not long to join in with the game and were happy without the fierce energy of the wild tots.’ True or False? | This is false. The adults longed to join in the game and were jealous of the fierce energy of the wild tots. | ||||||
| 5 | 12 | In what tone did Mink speak to an imaginary person near the rose bush? | In an earnest tone | ||||||
| 6 | 12 | Mink dictates to Anna two answers that the imaginary person near the rosebush gives her. What are these two nouns? | ‘Triangle’ and ‘beam’ | ||||||
| 7 | 13 |
Who or what is drill?
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The answer is a. | ||||||
| 8 | 14 | Which planets could Drill potentially be from? | He could from Jupiter or Saturn or Venus. | ||||||
| 9 | 14 | Mink tells her mother the story of how the Martians are going to invade earth. She gets confused when talking about ‘dim-dims’. What is mink trying to say when she says that there is ‘something about dim-dims’? | Mink is trying to say that Drill told her that there are four dimensions. | ||||||
| 10 | 15 | Mink is upset because guys like Pete Britz and Dale Jerrick are making fun of her. They do not believe that Drill exists. Why does Mink think that they have these opinions? | She thinks that they have these opinions because they are growing up. | ||||||
| 11 | 15 | Mink’s mother is unhappy that Drill told Mink that she can do things she isn’t supposed to. What two things did Drill tell Mink she can do? | Mink told Drill that she can stay up until ten o’clock and that she can watch two television shows on Saturday instead of one. | ||||||
| 12 | 16 | Mrs Morris asks Helen whether they were as bad as her kids in 1948. Helen says that they were worse. What game does she say they were playing that was so bad? | The game was called ‘Japs and Nazis’ (Terms used for the Japanese and German enemy during the Second World War) | ||||||
| 13 | 16 |
Through what technology do Mrs.Morris and Helen speak to each other?
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B) The audio-visor | ||||||
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14 |
17 |
What does Mink do with the Yoyo that makes Mrs.Morris so confused? |
She makes the Yo-Yo vanish and then she makes it reappear. |
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15 |
17 |
What complicated word does Mrs.Morris use towards Helen that Mink had just previously learned from Drill? What had Mrs.Morris previously said on page 16 that this word meant? |
Mrs.Morris uses the word impressionable , a word that Mink had just learned from Drill. Mrs.Morris had previously said that impressionable means ‘to be a child’. |
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16 |
18 |
What time is ‘zero hour’? |
Five o’clock. |
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17 |
19 |
Mrs.Morris calls Mr.Morris ‘Henry’. Do we yet know Mrs.Morris’ first name, and if not, what is she called by Mr.Morris? |
We do not yet know Mrs.Morris’ first name. She is called ‘darling’ by Mr.Morris. |
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18 |
19 |
The children have almost nothing with them except two important objects, of which they have many in a square-shaped arrangement. What are these objects? |
Pipes and Hammers |
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19 |
20 |
There is an explosion soon after zero hour that comes from the area that Mink is playing in. What does Mrs.Morris realise after the explosion, and from where in her mind does her suspicion arise? |
Her suspicion arises from her subconscious, and she realises that Mink may have been telling the truth all along. |
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20 |
20 |
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21 |
21 |
If the aliens had a skin colour, what colour would this most likely be?
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The most likely colour is blue. This is because the author described Mink as having ‘tall blue shadows’ behind her when she comes in to the room with the adults. |
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22 |
21 |
Henry Morris and Mrs.Morris hide in the attic of their house and throw away the key. Why is Mrs.Morris suddenly so afraid of Mink entering the room, and at what point does Henry Morris start to share the fear of Mrs.Morris? |
Mrs.Morris is afraid because she thinks that the invaders will kill her and her husband. Henry starts to share inher fear when he hears the alien sound of eagerness in Mink’s voice. |
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