Robot Active

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 beendestroyed.’ ...............
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 ordeath, 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 Robotsmade 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 Powelland Donovan changed Dave’s circuits to stop him acting crazy.
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 Byerleywas a robot. Describe the three tests and their results.
























20 marks

Total marks


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 robotsd [ ] 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
4Powell 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 [ ]...