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WorksheetsThree Skeleton Key
Total questions: 14
Worksheet time: 42mins
Why does the narrator take the job at Three Skeleton Key?
He wants to set aside some money before he gets married.
He wants to protect the lighthouse.
He wants to watch the ships sail in the nighttime.
He is sent there to find three escaped convicts.
Why is it unusual for the lighthouse keepers to see a ship in their waters?
Sailors know that there are many rats on the island.
The waters are treacherous (dangerous).
The island is off-limits to sailors.
Why does the narrator watch the Cornelius de Witt with tears in his eyes?
He knows that all of the men on board the ship are dead.
He knows that the ship is about to be wrecked.
He has heard there are rats aboard the ship.
He had once served on the ship.
How does the narrator convince us that the sea rats in this story are of the worst possible sort?
He tells a story of two terrier dogs that were eaten by sea rats.
He says that the sea rats are worse than land rats.
He says that the rats are able to scratch and tear through wood, metal, and glass.
He says that Dutch sea rats eat dogs, cats, men, sharks, and one another.
The narrator's descriptions of the window in the lantern room imply (make the reader think) the--
thick glass will keep the rats out.
skeletons will open the window.
window will collapse.
rats will eat the glass.
How do the rats first get inside the lighthouse?
They dig a tunnel under the lighthouse.
They eat a hole through the door.
The metal sheeting that was sealing the window gives way.
Crazed by the sight of the rats, Le Gleo opens the door.
Why do the officers and crew of the first patrol boat look at the lighthouse with horrified expressions
Sharks are circling the island.
The light is completely covered by a seething mass of rats.
Sharks are hungrily devouring the rats.
They see the skeletons of the three lighthouse keepers.
When some rats return defeated from the attack on the patrol boat, the narrator says that the other rats greeted them with "shrill cries...with...a derisive note...." The author is showing that the rats--
can actually laugh.
have humanlike qualities.
do not like each other.
have begun to attack each other.
What strategies are used to rescue the three men from the island? (Choose 3)
The crew tempt the rats onto a barge filled with meat.
The lighthouse keepers set fire to the island.
The crew drench the barge with gasoline and then set it on fire.
The crew shoots any escaping rats and leave the rest to be eaten by the sharks.
What becomes of the three lighthouse attendants?
One man returns with a key; two refuse to go back to the lighthouse.
Two men return to Three Skeleton Key; the third man dies.
One man returns to the key; one goes insane; one dies.
Two men return to the island; the third man is too frightened to return.
Which of the following is an example of foreshadowing (a preview of events to come)?
A man dreams of the three convicts' skeletons.
Some of the rats fall into the ocean and are eaten by the sharks.
The narrator sees the Dutch ship heading for the island.
Which of the following details found early in the story enables you to predict that "Three Skeleton Key" will be a frightening tale?
The history of the rock
The work that had to be done at the lighthouse
The revolving beam of light
In a story filled with suspense, the reader feels--
sadness about the fate of the characters.
anxious curiosity.
overwhelming joy.
sure about the outcome (ending).
Which of the following details is intended to create suspense? (Choose 3)
The waters around the key swarm with hungry sharks
The framework of one window is eaten away and sags inward
Through their glasses, the men see a barge
The men watch the abandoned Dutch ship sail straight toward them
