[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-487991-105":59,"doc-detail-487991-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","the-war-of-the-worlds-broadcast-radio-play-reading-comprehension-questions","The War of the Worlds Broadcast - Radio Play Reading Comprehension Questions","","A reading comprehension passage explains how Orson Welles’ Mercury Theatre broadcast on October 30, 1938 sounded like a real news report about Martians attacking Earth. It describes how the team adapted H. G. Wells’ 1898 novel into fake reporters, scientists, and music, with “bulletins” that heightened realism. It also notes why some listeners couldn’t easily verify the broadcast and how newspapers may have exaggerated panic, highlighting the lesson to question surprising claims by checking who reports them and why.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":20,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/exam/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/the-war-of-the-worlds-broadcast-radio-play-reading-comprehension-questions/487991/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/the-war-of-the-worlds-broadcast-radio-play-reading-comprehension-questions/487991.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"moss~","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-05","2026-09-30",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":44},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What did listeners hear on the radio on October 30, 1938?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"They heard a make-believe news broadcast about Martians attacking Earth.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"Why was it hard for some listeners to confirm whether the broadcast was true in 1938?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"They had no video and no internet to check, and those who tuned in late could miss the announcer’s warning that it was only a play.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"How did historians view the newspaper reports of panic?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Historians suggest the reports were likely exaggerated because newspapers competed with radio and some may have amplified fear to make radio seem more dangerous.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},487991,1790871838,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":19,"category_name":20,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":44,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":34,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144,"preview_page_count":4},962090895452,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_a8503ba1806abce46bf441b54a3ca4cd","Imagine turning on your radio one October night and hearing a newsman shout that strange machines had landed in a nearby field. That is exactly what listeners heard on October 30, 1938, when a young actor named Orson Welles took to the airwaves. With his Mercury Theatre group, he turned a science-fiction novel into a make-believe news broadcast about Martians attacking Earth. The show sounded so real that, according to the newspapers, people across America ran from their homes in fear.  \nThat frightening broadcast came from a book written decades earlier. The story was based on\"The War of the Worlds,\" a novel by the English writer H. G. Wells, first published in 1898. Welles and his team kept the idea of an invasion from Mars but moved the action to the United States and dressed it up as breaking news. Instead of chapters read aloud, listeners heard fake reporters, fake scientists, and even fake music that kept getting interrupted by \"bulletins. \"  \nThose interruptions were the clever trick that made the whole thing feel true. At the very start, an announcer explained that the program was only a play, but many people tuned in late and missed that warning. If you had turned the dial a few minutes in, you might have caught a serious voice describing creatures climbing out of a spacecraft. With no video and no internet to check, some listeners had no easy way to know it was just a story.  \nBecause the show fooled at least a few people, the next morning's newspapers went wild. Headlines claimed that huge crowds had fled in terror and that phone lines were jammed with frightened callers. But here is the twist that historians point out today: those reports were most likely exaggerated. Newspapers were competing with radio for readers, so some may have made the panic sound bigger than it really was to make radio look dangerous.  \nThis means the scariest part of the story may be how easily a rumor can grow. Most people who heard the broadcast probably knew it was fiction, and only a smaller number were truly alarmed. Still, the night became one of the most famous events in radio history, and Welles went on to make more movies afterward. So the real lesson is one you can use every day: before you believe a wild claim, it pays to ask who is telling it and why.  \nThe War of the Worlds Broadcast  \nName:  \n\n| Solve each problem.\u003Cbr>Use the article to answer the question.\u003Cbr>1) What did listeners hear on the radio on October 30, 1938?\u003Cbr>A. A live report about a real spacecraft landing in England\u003Cbr>B. A make-believe news broadcast about Martians attacking Earth\u003Cbr>C. A comedy show that made fun of science-fiction stories\u003Cbr>D. A calm reading of a novel with no news bulletins at all |  |  |  |  | Answers\u003Cbr>1.  \u003Cbr>2.  \u003Cbr>3.   |  |  |  |  |  |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| 2) What made it hard for some 1938 listeners to check whether the broadcast was true?\u003Cbr>A. They had no video and no internet to look at\u003Cbr>B. They had never heard a radio program before\u003Cbr>C. They were not allowed to call anyone on the phone\u003Cbr>D. They could not turn the radio dial to another station |  |  |  |  | 4.  \u003Cbr>5.  \u003Cbr>6.  \u003Cbr>7.   |  |  |  |  |  |\n| 3) How did Welles and his team change the original story for radio?\u003Cbr>A. They removed the Martians and added friendly space visitors\u003Cbr>B. They kept the English setting and read the book word for word\u003Cbr>C. They turned the whole novel into a set of quiet interviews\u003Cbr>D. They moved the action to the United States and dressed it up as breaking news |  |  |  |  | 8.  \u003Cbr>9.  \u003Cbr>10.   |  |  |  |  |  |\n| 4) According to the first sentence of the last paragraph, what may be the scariest part of the story?\u003Cbr>A. How Orson Welles never worked in entertainment again\u003Cbr>B. How every listener that night was completely fooled\u003Cbr>C. How real the Martian machines looked on video\u003Cbr>D. How easily a rumor can grow |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |\n| 5) According to the passage, why might ","cbCaiuI1TDIrVpNH","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiuI1TDIrVpNH","pdf",81225,"English","# October 30, 1938 Broadcast Details\n## Radio realism and listener confusion\n## Adapting the original novel for radio\n## Newspapers, exaggeration, and historian perspective\n## Key vocabulary and overall passage structure\n## Answer questions based on the passage","[{\"question\":\"What did listeners hear on the radio on October 30, 1938?\",\"answer\":\"They heard a make-believe news broadcast about Martians attacking Earth.\"},{\"question\":\"Why was it hard for some listeners to confirm whether the broadcast was true in 1938?\",\"answer\":\"They had no video and no internet to check, and those who tuned in late could miss the announcer’s warning that it was only a play.\"},{\"question\":\"How did historians view the newspaper reports of panic?\",\"answer\":\"Historians suggest the reports were likely exaggerated because newspapers competed with radio and some may have amplified fear to make radio seem more dangerous.\"}]","The War of the Worlds Broadcast - Radio Play Reading Comprehension Questions | PDF",1790809765,18]