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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. The reporters had endless questions about what?

2. This doctor insisted what?

3. On July ____, 1916, a small group of men and their boats were organized to hunt the man-eater down.

4. The US Bureau of ______________ declared that people should not be deterred from going into the waters since "sharks were not vicious" (p. 82). Sharks were deemed to be less a threat to man than horses and dogs.

5. A lunar eclipse would be occurring on July _______ that year.

Short Essay Questions

1. How was John Nichols finally forced to believe that sharks could be deadly to humans?

2. How did the boys react to Lester Stilwell being pull under by the shark? Was this a good idea? Why or why not?

3. Whom did newspaper reporters in New York contact regarding shark attacks? Why did they contact this man?

4. What was done to help keep swimmers safe? Was this effective? Why or why not?

5. What did Coppleson think of the shark attacks of 1916? How does this compare to other beliefs at the time and beliefs today?

6. How were New York and New Jersey's economies affected by this shark? How did the people of these states react to this? How did this lead to federal government efforts?

7. What happened to both Joseph and Stanley Fisher?

8. What is a rogue shark? How did this term come about?

9. What might have caused the shark to head north?

10. What led the shark to Matawan?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Many of the resorts along the Jersey shore wanted to keep their beaches open.

Part 1) What attempts were made to keep these beaches open? Were these good ideas? Why or why not? Should the beaches have been kept open? Why or why not?

Part 2) What other disasters might affect the economy of a beach community like the Jersey shore? How might those living in and visiting these communities deal with these disasters?

Part 3) When have communities or the government kept information from the general public to keep the economy from collapsing? How did this, in the end, affect the economy?

Essay Topic 2

The shark was put on display.

Part 1) Why was the shark put on display? Should it have been put on display? Why or why not? How else has the story of this man-eating shark been sensationalized and dramatized?

Part 2) Are animal attacks typical news stories? Why did this shark become so famous? Why were so many people drawn to the story of this shark? What does this reveal about human nature?

Part 3) Would a story such as this be as exciting today? Would news coverage be as spectacular? Why or why not? Might it be more spectacular? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

The shark swam into a fresh water creek.

Part 1) Why did the shark do this? What did this reveal about the shark at this time? How might the shark's state of mind have played a role in the many attacks along the Matawan Creek?

Part 2) What could have been done to keep the shark out of the creek? Might tactics such as this be used today? Why or why not? Do you see creeks as being dangerous now because of this event? Why or why not?

Part 3) In what ways has man tried to control nature to make life better for all mankind? What are the results of these attempts? Why? Should man attempt to control nature? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,425 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample