The Incredible Talking Machine

Select one piece of evidence from the article that BEST support your answer to #3

• “From the first, they thought it would be used to reproduce the human voice, but they had no clear idea of its exact purpose.” (paragraph 1)

• “The staff went on working through the night, fiddling with the gizmo—and thus occurred the first midnight recording session.” (paragraph 4)

• “To him, the idea that his most cherished invention faced competition was unendurable.” (paragraph 8)

• “He dismissed ‘miserable dance and ragtime selections’ and described jazz as something for ‘the nuts.’ ” (paragraph 9)

Passage 1
Which sentence from the article best supports the answer to question #5?  

• “If the paper were then pulled through the rollers again with the needle resting in the groove, the indentations would move the attached diaphragm . . .” (paragraph 3)

• “It broke down frequently and required a trained technician’s constant attention.” (paragraph 7)

• “Ten years elapsed before Edison returned to the phonograph, only after a competitor developed a wax-coated cylinder that could be removed without ruining the recording. . . .” (paragraph 8) 

• “The other phonograph companies introduced radios but Edison refused, wanting nothing to do with the medium’s inferior sound quality.” (paragraph 10) 

Choose the correct spelling.

• incridible

• incredible

• incredeble

• incredibble

What is the main theme of 'The Incredible Talking Machine'?

• The evolution of communication technology

• The impact of music on society

• The history of the telephone

• The invention of the radio

Which sentence best describes the purpose of 'The Incredible Talking Machine'?

• To entertain readers with a fictional story

• To inform readers about a historical invention

• To persuade readers to use modern technology

• To describe a scientific experiment

What literary device is primarily used in 'The Incredible Talking Machine'?

• Metaphor

• Simile

• Personification

• Irony

Which of the following words best describes the tone of 'The Incredible Talking Machine'?

• Humorous

• Serious

• Informative

• Sarcastic

In the context of 'The Incredible Talking Machine', what does the word 'incredible' mean?

• Unbelievable

• Ordinary

• Boring

• Predictable

What is the primary setting of 'The Incredible Talking Machine'?

• A modern city

• A historical laboratory

• A futuristic world

• A rural village

Which character in 'The Incredible Talking Machine' is most likely the protagonist?

• The inventor

• The journalist

• The musician

• The critic