SCIENCE FICTION
STUDY GUIDE
“Monkey’s Paw”
“Zoo”
“Examination Day” Vocabulary
Question #1
Vocabulary
 1) Veronica saw a
_____________________
man walking around the
neighborhood, so she
decided to notify the police.
Answer to #1
SINISTER
Question #2
Vocabulary
 2) It might have just been her
_______________________,
but Meghan thought she saw
Jackson admiring her from
across the room.
Answer to #2
FANCY
Question #3
Vocabulary
 3) Samuel
wanted to go
bowling with his friends
Sunday night, but he could
not figure out how to
____________________ the
topic with his strict parents.
Answer to #3
BROACH
Question #4
Vocabulary
 4) Ashley studied with
______________________
because she did not want to
fail math and have to attend
summer school.
Answer to #4
RESOLUTION
Question #5
Vocabulary
 5) Aaron
_____________________
answered the reporter’s
questions, hoping that his words
would not be misrepresented in
the newspaper.
Answer to #5
DUBIOUSLY
Question #6
Vocabulary
 6) Lily wanted to wear a
unique dress to the prom, not
one of those
_________________ ones
that all the other girls would
be wearing.
Answer to #6
PROSAIC
Question #7
Vocabulary
 7) Not wanting to wake her
sleeping children, the mother
________________________
entered the room to switch on
the night light.
Answer to #7
FURTIVELY
Question #8
Vocabulary
 8)
________________________
by the movie on television,
the children begged their
parents to let them stay up
long enough to see the
ending.
Answer to #8
ENTHRALLED
Question #9
Vocabulary
 9) Our pleasant evening with
friends was
_____________________ by
the argument we had during
the last half hour of their visit.
Answer to #9
MARRED
Question #10
Vocabulary
 10) During the transit of
Venus tomorrow, remember
to keep your eyes
______________ from the
sun unless you are using a
telescope or binoculars.
Answer to #10
AVERTED
“Monkey’s Paw”
 Organize the following events by
placing the number of the event in
the appropriate category. Some
categories will have more than one
statement.
“Monkey’s Paw” Answers






Theme: #5
Exposition: # 6, #1
Rising Action: #7, #4, #8
Climax: #3
Falling Action: #2, #10
Resolution: #9
And all the rest!
 Describe the ironic plot twist in each of
the following stories:
 “ZOO”
 “Examination Day”
 “People Are Alike All Over”
“ZOO”
 At first, the reader only thinks that
humans must pay to attend Professor
Hugo’s alien zoo.
 However, at the end of the story, we
realize that the aliens are also paying to
attend a human zoo.
“Examination Day”
 Although there is foreshadowing
that Ricky might fail his test, the
reader is surprised to see that he
fails (and is executed!) for
knowing too much!
“People Are Alike All
Over”
 Conrad travels to Mars to discover a new
civilization, but he ends up as their
discovery—an exhibit in their zoo!
 When Markeson tells Conrad people are alike
all over, he refers to kindness; Markeson
sees he was right, but it was about people’s
curiosity and its consequences.