I, Robot – Short Stories Isaac Asimov 1 Which story do these sentences come from? 4 Fill in the gaps using these words: hurt, novels, Reason, Catch that Rabbit, Liar!, Little Lost Robot, loved, crazy, Managing Director, feelings, Bogert, Runaround. read, truth, Dr Calvin. a ‘Mike, we’re trapped! Our own roof fell!’ RB-34 could ............... minds. He learnt about ............... ............... by reading ................ He told b Death by slow boiling is not a pleasant way to ............... that Milton Ashe ............... her. die. ............... He told ............... that he was the next ............... c ‘I see into human minds, you see.’ ............... But when he had to ............... the scientists by TEST d ‘My third “finger” has been destroyed.’ telling the ..............., he went ............... ............... e ‘He can control the station. What does it matter 20 marks what he believes?’ ............... C O M P R E H E N S I O N f ‘Nestor 10 knew that we had lied.’ ............... 5 In the story Evidence, three tests were used to find out whether Stephen Byerley was a robot. Describe g ‘There is only one Master, and Cutie is his the three tests and their results. 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 or death, 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 Robots made RB-34 to read human minds. 20 marks g Herbie gave people the answers they wanted. h Nestor 10 disappeared after a fight. i Nestor 10 was destroyed when he tried to T Total marks 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 Powell and 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 OXFORD BOOKWORMS LIBRARY STAGE 5 18 © OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS PHOTOCOPIABLE BWStage5Testsp5-MB.indd 18 01/02/08 10:28:45 I, Robot – Short Stories Isaac Asimov Setting 12 Susan Calvin was leaving work at the age of _____. a □ sixty-five b □ seventy-five c □ seventy Choose the best answer. d □ sixty 1 For fifty years Dr Calvin had _____. 13 The reporter worked for a newspaper with _____ a □ wanted to leave US Robots b □ studied at readers. Colombia University c □ watched the a □ two million b □ three million c □ two development of robots d □ made robots billion d □ three billion 2 Dr Calvin thought that robots were _____ 14 At the age of twenty, Dr Calvin had met _____. creatures. a □ Mike Donovan b □ Greg Powell a □ cleaner and better b □ slow and bad c □ Speedy the robot d □ Alfred Lanning c □ kind and nice d □ slow and lazy 15 Mike Donovan had _____ hair. 3 One of the reasons that the first expedition to a □ brown b □ red c □ black d □ blond Mercury failed was because _____. 16 Speedy was a _____ type robot. a □ the equipment was old b □ the radio a □ SPD-13 b □ STD-13 c □ PTS-13 wouldn’t work c □ the robots didn’t work d □ PSD-13 d □ they got lost 17 Cutie was the first robot who had ever been _____. 4 Powell and Donovan had only been on Mercury a □ curious about himself b □ intelligent for _____ and already things had gone wrong. c □ able to speak d □ to Mercury a □ twelve hours b □ twelve days 18 Milton Ashe was the _____ of US Robots c □ twelve minutes d □ twelve seconds Company. 5 Powell and Donovan were sent to Mercury to a □ youngest director b □ oldest director TEST repair the _____. c □ Head of Mathematics d □ Head Psychologist a □ robots b □ insosuits c □ maps 19 Alfred Lanning was nearly seventy and had been d □ photocell banks _____ for thirty years. 6 All the robots on the lowest sublevel of Mercury a □ Managing Director b □ a Psychologist MULTIPLE-CHOICE were _____. c □ Head of Robots d □ in Finance a □ lost b □ with Speedy c □ over three 20 Peter Bogert was a _____. metres tall d □ very fast a □ psychologist b □ robot c □ scientist 7 The insosuits would protect them for twenty d □ mathematician minutes in _____. a □ the selenium pool b □ the Station 20 marks c □ direct sunlight d □ the sublevels 8 Powell and Donovan came out at exit 13A, _____ kilometres from the selenium pool. Dialogue a □ five b □ fifteen c □ fifty d □ fifty-five Who said this? 9 There were seats on the robots and _____ to 21 ‘There was a time when human beings faced the hold on to. world alone and without a friend.’ a □ two arms b □ two long ears a □ the reporter b □ Dr Calvin c □ Mike c □ a head d □ long hair Powell d □ Dr Lanning 10 The Three Laws of _____ are built in to a 22 ‘It’s life or death, Speedy. I need you.’ robot’s brain. a □ Mike Powell b □ Greg Donovan c □ Dr a □ Mathematics b □ Gravity c □ Robotics Calvin d □ Dr Lanning d □ Mercury 23 ‘There should be a better explanation. It seems 20 marks improbable that you made me!’ a □ Speedy b □ Dave c □ Cutie d □ Herbie 24 ‘We must discover the problem before we can Characters solve it.’ a □ Greg Donovan b □ Dr Calvin c □ Cutie Choose the best answer. d □ Mike Powell 11 Susan Calvin was a cold girl, _____, who 25 ‘Boss? Where are you? My third ‘finger’ has disliked the world around her. been destroyed.’ a □ happy and talkative b □ shy and nervous a □ Dave b □ Cutie c □ Herbie d □ Speedy c □ plain and colourless d □ dark and mysterious OXFORD BOOKWORMS LIBRARY STAGE 5 52 © OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS PHOTOCOPIABLE BWStage5Testsp5-MB.indd 52 01/02/08 10:28:50 I, Robot – Short Stories Isaac Asimov 26 ‘A positronic brain is very complicated. It involves 39 a metal case which contains and supplies energy 75,234 separate operations in the factory in order a □ cable b □ battery c □ gravity d □ atomic to produce one positronic brain.’ 40 the sending out of energy in rays a □ Milton Ashe b □ Susan Calvin c □ Peter a □ oxygen b □ photocell bank Bogert d □ Alfred Lanning c □ detonator d □ radiation 27 ‘We’ve got a mind-reading robot and it’s important that we discover the reason.’ 20 marks a □ Susan Calvin b □ Alfred Lanning c □ Milton Ashe d □ Peter Bogert 28 ‘He knows everything, including the mistake Plot which was made in the factory when he was Choose the best answer. being produced.’ 41 The reporter went to interview Dr Calvin to get a □ Susan Calvin b □ Milton Ashe _____. c □ Alfred Lanning d □ Peter Bogert a □ more information about Dr Lanning 29 ‘My first experience with space travel and b □ more personal information c □ atomic engine development was in 2029, when a information about Mercury d □ a new address robot was lost…’ 42 The Second Mercury Expedition was in _____. a □ Peter Bogert b □ Susan Calvin a □ 2025 b □ 2015 c □ 2105 d □ 2125 c □ Milton Ashe d □ Alfred Lanning 43 Powell and Donovan had to fix robot _____. 30 ‘The locks of the robots’ room have been a □ QT-1 b □ TQ-1 c □ QP-1 d □ QC-1 damaged. I think Nestor 10 is trying to escape.’ 44 Powell and Donovan were worried about what was a □ Peter Bogert b □ Susan Calvin going to happen when the _____ storm hit them. TEST c □ General Kallner d □ Gerald Black a □ photocell b □ positronic c □ gravity d □ electron 20 marks 45 After listening to stories about engineers, the MULTIPLE-CHOICE reporter wanted to know if anything ever happened on _____. Vocabulary a □ Mercury b □ the asteroids c □ Earth Choose the best answer. d □ the sun 31 a strong reason for believing something 46 Susan Calvin wanted to destroy 63 robots a □ brain b □ evidence c □ protection because _____. d □ vibration a □ one was lying b □ one was bad 32 a line of light or heat c □ one was speaking d □ they were old a □ beam b □ bar c □ battery d □ circuit 47 Before he became City Governor, Stephen 33 connected to, but of less importance than Byerley was