Question 1 of 10
The gas is personified with 'tendrils' that 'search', 'feel', and 'scent'. This makes the gas seem like...
A) A living predator — hunting, tracking, and seeking out victims with intelligence
B) A friendly pet following the soldiers around
C) A weather event like rain or wind
D) An ordinary cloud passing through the sky
Question 2 of 10
'Gas! Gas!' is given its own paragraph. This is effective because...
A) It fills up space on the page
B) The writer forgot to add more sentences
C) Isolating these two words creates maximum shock — like a sudden explosion breaking the calm
D) It shows the soldiers are whispering quietly
Question 3 of 10
'A gas mask is like God — it'll work miracles but you've got to believe in it.' The narrator responds: 'I don't believe in miracles.' This tells us...
A) He doesn't know how to use his gas mask
B) War has destroyed his faith and hope — he can't trust anything to save him anymore
C) He is an atheist who doesn't go to church
D) Gas masks don't actually work
Question 4 of 10
'On me, around me, in me' — this tricolon (list of three) creates a sense of...
A) Safety — the gas is protecting him
B) Boredom — the same thing is repeated
C) Confusion — the narrator doesn't know where the gas is
D) Escalating invasion — each phrase gets more intimate and terrifying as the gas moves from surface to surrounding to inside the body
Question 5 of 10
The German soldier says 'Go boy... Go. Tommy, go.' The word 'boy' and the gentle repetition show...
A) Compassion — he sees a suffering child, not an enemy, and his humanity overcomes the war
B) Contempt — he is mocking the narrator for being young and weak
C) Strategy — he wants the narrator to deliver a message to the British generals
D) Confusion — the German soldier doesn't realise they are enemies
Question 6 of 10
The passage uses present tense ('I see', 'I hear', 'I run') throughout the action. This creates...
A) Distance — we feel removed from the action
B) A sense that the events happened a very long time ago
C) Immediacy — we experience events in real time, as if we're there with the narrator
D) A fairy-tale feeling, like 'once upon a time'
Question 7 of 10
'My eyes are stinging. My lungs are burning. I am coughing, retching, choking.' The short sentences create...
A) A calm, measured description of symptoms
B) A breathless, punching rhythm — each sentence adds more suffering, mirroring the narrator's inability to breathe
C) A slow, relaxing pace
D) The impression that the effects are not very serious
Question 8 of 10
The opening scene shows soldiers 'lying asleep in the sun' and 'sitting about smoking and chatting'. The writer includes this to...
A) Show that war is boring and nothing ever happens
B) Describe what soldiers do on their days off
C) Introduce all the main characters in the story
D) Create contrast — the peaceful opening makes the sudden gas attack feel far more shocking and terrifying
Question 9 of 10
The gas 'swallowing everything in its path' suggests the gas is...
A) An unstoppable, all-consuming force — like a giant creature devouring everything
B) Thin and transparent
C) Moving in a straight line toward one target
D) Harmless and easy to avoid
Question 10 of 10
'I brace myself, but he does not fire. He lowers his rifle slowly.' The word 'slowly' is important because...
A) The German soldier's gun is heavy and hard to move
B) The German soldier is confused about what to do
C) It shows a deliberate, conscious choice — he isn't rushing or acting on impulse; he's choosing mercy carefully and intentionally
D) He wants to scare the narrator before letting him go