On June 20, 1975, just in time for the big summer vacation season, Jaws, a film directed by Steven Spielberg that made countless viewers afraid to go into the water, opened in theaters. The story of a great white shark that terrorizes a New England resort town became an instant blockbuster and the highest-grossing film in movie history until it was bested by 1977’s Star Wars. Jaws was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Picture category and took home three Oscars, for Best Film Editing, Best Original Score and Best Sound. The film, a breakthrough for director Spielberg, then 27 years old, spawned three sequels.
Let’s see how brave you are today.
1. cartilaginous
(a) having an appetite for human flesh
(b) derived from the oil of a shark liver
(c) composed of, relating to, or resembling cartilage
(d) none of the above
2. scarp
(a) a limb (as an arm, wing, fin, or leg) that is situated anteriorly
(b) one of the paired fins of a fish that are homologous with the hind limbs of a quadruped
(c) a low steep slope along a beach caused by wave erosion
(d) any of various usually small bottom-dwelling sharks that often appear in schools near shore, prey chiefly on fish and invertebrates, and are a valuable food source
3. plage
(a) suspicion or fear especially of future evil
(b) the rough skin of various sharks and rays when covered with small close-set tubercles
(c) a juvenile shark
(d) the beach of a seaside resort
4. ampulla of Lorenzini
(a) any of the pores on the snouts of marine sharks and rays that contain receptors highly sensitive to weak electric fields
(b) a Venetian seascape masterpiece by Fiorella Lorenzini, depicting Corsican shark fishermen
(c) a large plankton-feeding shark
(d) a large plankton-feeding shark that has an oil-rich liver and may attain a length of up to 45 feet
5. Antonin Dvorak
(a) Austrian composer (1732-1809)
(b) Bohemian composer (1841-1904)
(c) Russian composer (1840-1893)
(d) German composer and pianist (1833-1987)
6. shylock
(a) loan shark
(b) nurse shark
(c) requiem shark
(d) thresher shark
7. annulus
(a) the hide of a shark or leather made from it
(b) the often unwarranted exciting of fears or warning of danger
(c) a growth ring (as on the scale of a fish) that is used in estimating age
(d) an impending disaster
8. catharsis
(a) elimination of a complex by bringing it to consciousness and affording it expression
(b) a continuing source of irritation
(c) a source of fear, perplexity, or harassment
(d) causing fear, dread, or apprehension
9. bugaboo
(a) made as a final effort especially to avert disaster
(b) an imaginary object of fear
(c) one not positively identified as friendly and so assumed to be hostile
(d) an elementary swimming stroke in which the arms paddle in the water and the legs maintain a kicking motion
10. an even better movie directed by Spielberg
(a) Sharknado 5, starring Tara Reid
(b) Star Wars, starring Harrison Ford
(c) Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, starring Cara Delevingne
(d) Duel, starring Dennis Weaver
Correct answers:
1d; 2c; 3d; 4a; 5b; 6a; 7c; 8a; 9b; 10d
Where are you on the Jaws scale?
| # Correct | Bravery Scale |
| All 10 | Smart enough to know why Dvorak is on our list. |
| 7-9 | Smart like Quint (but look what happened to Quint!). |
| 4-6 | Better swim faster. |
| 2-3 | You probably ignore lifeguard warnings. |
| 0-1 | Mayor Larry Vaughn. |
Intro text: history.com
Definitions: Merriam-Webster 11th Collegiate Dictionary
