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  • "The Test" by Theodore Thomas: Pre-Reading Questions

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    Josh Klimmek
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    The document provides pre-reading and post-reading questions about the short story "The Test" by Theodore Thomas. It asks about the reader's thoughts on driver's licenses, their favorite science fiction works, and analyzes quotes and themes from the story. The story is about a man named Robert Proctor who has a car accident during his driving test, and it is revealed that life itself may be some kind of simulation or test.

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    TheTestbyTheodoreThomasShortstorypacket-1

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    The document provides pre-reading and post-reading questions about the short story "The Test" by Theodore Thomas. It asks about the reader's thoughts on driver's licenses, their favorite science fiction works, and analyzes quotes and themes from the story. The story is about a man named Robert Proctor who has a car accident during his driving test, and it is revealed that life itself may be some kind of simulation or test.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as pdf or txt
    817 views3 pages

    "The Test" by Theodore Thomas: Pre-Reading Questions

    Uploaded by

    Josh Klimmek
    The document provides pre-reading and post-reading questions about the short story "The Test" by Theodore Thomas. It asks about the reader's thoughts on driver's licenses, their favorite science fiction works, and analyzes quotes and themes from the story. The story is about a man named Robert Proctor who has a car accident during his driving test, and it is revealed that life itself may be some kind of simulation or test.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 3

    “The Test” by Theodore Thomas

    Short story first appeared in Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine in 1962
    Link to the story PDF: http://englishiva1011.pbworks.com/f/TEST.PDF

    Pre-Reading Questions
    Answer with complete sentences including your opinions and explanations. Make sure
    you edit for grammar conventions before turning in.
    1. Are you excited to get your driver’s license in the future? Do you think it will be
    hard or difficult? What do you know about the process? When do you plan on
    getting started with classes, studying, etc.?

    2. What is your dream car or cars? Describe them with specifics about features,
    colors, etc.

    3. Research the author. When was he alive? Where was he born and where did he
    live? What jobs did he have? When and how did he die?

    4. What are some of your favorite science-fiction that you’ve read, watched, played
    in video games, etc.? Which were the most mind blowing for you? (Example: The
    Matrix film)
    Post-Reading Questions
    Comprehension / Plot Summary and Analysis
    Answer with complete sentences. Include direct quotes from the story when necessary.
    1. What is the mood like at the beginning of the story as Robert drives his car with
    his mother? How is Robert feeling and what is the atmosphere of the drive? Add
    a direct quote to prove your answer.

    2. In your own words, describe Robert Proctor’s accident. Who do you think is at
    fault?

    3. Analyze the line, “It was not the fear in the man that reached into Robert Proctor;
    it was the trusting helplessness in the face of the sleeping girl.” Explain this
    statement. What was Robert thinking about just before the accident? Why is this
    line significant?

    4. What indication can you find in the story to suggest that other potential drivers
    met a fate similar to Robert Proctor’s?

    5. Were you surprised by the ending? Were there any clues during the story that
    tipped you off on the big twist?
    Opinion and Discussion Questions
    Answer with complete sentences. Include direct quotes from the story when necessary.
    1. How far in the future do you think this story takes place? Does it seem like a
    realistic possibility for the future of driver’s tests? Why or why not?

    2. What is a theme, lesson, or moral the author is trying to convey to readers?

    3. Does the driver’s test in the story seem fair to you? Why or why not? Is it actually
    a good idea?

    4. Is there a chance our world is a simulation that we haven’t woken up from yet?
    Explain. Consider the line in the last paragraph when the uniformed man said,
    “How do any of us know?”

    5. Can you think of any other stories, movies, TV shows, video games with similar
    concepts and topics?

    6. Do you agree that all of life might be a kind of test? In what ways does life test
    people every day? In what ways do people pass or fail the tests that life presents
    to them? What repercussions do we receive for our choices in these “tests”?

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