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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. Confused by the coastline, the shark swam into the mouth of what creek?

2. The next morning, retired ______________ Thomas V. Cottrell was walking along the bank of the creek.

3. Hearing about the attacks, ichthyologist John Nichols drove from New York City to the Matawan Creek. Where did he stop first?

4. An influx of salt water to the creek did what?

5. The shark craved large mammals rich with what?

Short Essay Questions

1. What led the shark to Matawan?

2. What proof does Chapter 11 give to suggest this was a young shark?

3. Describe the first realization that a shark had entered the Matawan Creek.

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

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

7. What did Fisher set up in the creek? Why did he do this?

8. What did Lucas and others think about the idea of man-eating sharks? How did they support this belief?

9. Describe what took place on July 7, 1916.

10. What did Fisher do to try to get Lester's body? How did this affect Fisher? Should he have done this? Why or why not?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

This book begins with Charles Vansant swimming in the ocean.

Part 1) What feelings does this chapter evoke in the reader? How are these feelings continued throughout the book? What is the purpose of these feelings? How might these feelings influence the reader regarding his or her view of Great Whites?

Part 2) Why does the author choose to tell Charles' story in several chapters, separated by other chapters about sharks? What is the purpose of mixing stories of shark attacks with objective information about the life of a shark?

Part 3) How does the author seem to feel about sharks? Why might he feel this way? Use the book to support your response. How do you feel about sharks after reading this book? Why do you feel this way?

Essay Topic 2

The Great White still greatly remains a mystery.

Part 1) What is known about the Great White? How has this information been found? Why is more not known about this shark? How does this support the fact that the shark has remained greatly unchanged since the Age of Reptiles?

Part 2) Would knowing more about Great Whites help or hurt this powerful shark? Why? How could knowing more about this shark benefit humans? Why? How could more be learned about this shark? What technologies might be beneficial in learning more?

Part 3) What other animals still remain a mystery to mankind? Why? Why do humans desire to understand the animal kingdom and other aspects of our world? Does this knowledge truly benefit the creatures living on our planet? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

Human-like bones were found in the belly of the shark.

Part 1) Describe the catching of the shark. How did it finally die? Could the shark have been killed if it had been full-grown or healthy? Why or why not? What does this reinforce about the power of sharks?

Part 2) What was found in the belly of the shark? Were the bones definitively found to be human remains? Why or why not? How might an investigation such as this have been different today? Why?

Part 3) Was there adequate proof that this was the shark that attacked and killed so many people? Why or why not? Do you believe the same shark attacked and/or killed all these people? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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