Multiple Choice
Identify the
letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
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Critical Reading
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1.
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In
“The Machine That Won the War,” Multivac is a. | a network of
subsidiary computers on several planets. | b. | a central computer responsible for strategy
decisions. | c. | a secure system of isolated underground
chambers. | d. | a solid-state cryogenics laboratory. | | |
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2.
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The
story is set a. | in the future on
Mars. | b. | in the recent past on Earth, Mars, and the
moon. | c. | in the present on Earth. | d. | in the future on
Earth. | | |
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3.
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What
has caused the celebration at the beginning of the story? a. | The war against
the Denebians is over. | b. | Swift is now executive director of the Solar
Federation. | c. | An interstellar warp has missed the
planet. | d. | Multivac has circumvented the Denebian
plans. | | |
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4.
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The
responsibility for ultimate decisions about the war lay with a. | Chief
Interpreter Jablonsky. | c. | Chief Programmer
Henderson. | b. | Multivac. | d. | Executive Director Swift. | | | | |
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5.
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Which
of the following items is an element of science fiction? a. | Swift’s
discomfort with military uniform | b. | Henderson’s guilt about his
actions | c. | The reasons for the computer problems | d. | Subsidiary
computers on Titan | | |
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6.
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Henderson feels guilty because a. | he thinks he is the only one who knows Multivac’s real
role. | b. | his programs and subprograms make huge risks necessary for
manned vessels. | c. | he is unauthorized by Jablonsky to use the Multivac
Annex. | d. | he is supplying Multivac false data for personal career
goals. | | |
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7.
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Why
did Henderson suspect the data he was to provide to Multivac was no good? a. | Titan’s
results were always delayed. | b. | There were obvious impossibilities from the
sources. | c. | He didn’t know what Jablonsky was
doing. | d. | He didn’t trust that Multivac was operating
correctly. | | |
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8.
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What
means did Henderson use to decide how to alter the programming data for Multivac? a. | Data from
computers on the moon, Mars, and Titan | b. | Spy-Warp, until it is destroyed | c. | His own
intuition | d. | Programming patterns from the Multivac
Annex | | |
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9.
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What
was Henderson’s explanation for the erroneous data he received? a. | Jablonsky never
left Multivac, and Swift didn’t see everything. | b. | Group leaders
elsewhere were making their groups look good. | c. | After Spy-Warp
was destroyed, there was no Denebian data. | d. | Earth, Mars, Titan, and the moon could not coordinate their
data. | | |
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10.
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Why
did Jablonsky ignore the report about unauthorized use of the Multivac Annex? a. | Programming was
Henderson’s responsibility. | b. | He assumed Swift had authorized it. | c. | He overlooked it
because of the technician shortage. | d. | He didn’t believe the data made any
difference. | | |
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11.
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Why
did Jablonsky also adjust Multivac’s results? a. | He couldn’t
tell whether the machine was working properly. | b. | He had figured
out that Henderson’s data was no good. | c. | He believed the
public couldn’t know about the absence of information about the
Denebians. | d. | He knew that he could do it with Swift often gone on state
visits. | | |
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12.
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Which
of the following explanations of Multivac’s problems is purely an element of science
fiction? a. | Humans are
motivated by their need to look competent. | b. | Interstellar war will bring unforeseen
uncertainties. | c. | Human error affects machines that are designed to prevent
it. | d. | Technology and
supplies modify the outcome of war. | | |
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13.
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What
was Swift’s reason for not relying on Multivac? a. | He had known all
along what Henderson and Jablonsky were doing. | b. | As the Executive
Director, he was the only one not responsible for Multivac. | c. | Old men find it
hard to abandon the habits of youth. | d. | The consequences and responsibility for decisions were too
great. | | |
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14.
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Why
did the three men keep their real actions secret from each other? a. | Each felt his
own position would be lost if the truth came out. | b. | Each knew what
the others were doing, but believed his own actions were undetected. | c. | Each lacked the
knowledge in the others’ area to suspect what was really happening. | d. | Each feared he
was doing something wrong, but felt he had to act to save the war effort. | | |
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15.
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What
theme reflects the concerns of this science-fiction story? a. | Ultimately,
man’s capacity for technology resolves situations in spite of human
error. | b. | Whether a machine is complicated or simple, complex human
issues affect humans’ relationship to technology. | c. | Humans will take
war into the reaches of space because of the basic nature of human beings. | d. | Neither the
simple nor the complex machine really determines the outcome of the war. | | |
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Vocabulary and Grammar
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16.
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The
word grisly means ____. a. | tough | c. | horrifying | b. | weathered | d. | tenacious | | | | |
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17.
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The
correct form of the contraction for the words does not is ____. a. | does’nt | c. | doesn’t | b. | dosen’t | d. | does n’t | | | | |
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18.
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The
word erratic means ____. a. | inconsistent | c. | exciting | b. | unexplainable | d. | mistaken | | | | |
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19.
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In a
contraction, the apostrophe a. | replaces the space between the original two
words. | b. | appears at the end of the word. | c. | replaces the
letter or letters dropped out. | d. | is used only in formal writing. | | |
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20.
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Contractions should be used a. | in as few places as possible. | b. | in sentences
that require a formal tone. | c. | in informal writing. | d. | in complex
sentences. | | |
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