Reading Quiz
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(for teachers only) Exam Section Points Awarded True/False/No Information Vocabulary in Context Short Answer Total
Dog Gone
SCOOBY-DOO CREATOR IWAO TAKAMOTO DIED THIS WEEK,
BUT HIS LEGACY LIVES ON.
1. Scooby-Doo creator Iwao Takamoto died in
January 2007 at the age of 81. After learning illustration from other inmates at a
California internment camp for Japanese-Americans during World War II, Takamoto pursued a career in animation, working for Disney and Hanna-Barbera, and on well- known cartoon shows like The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Cinderella, and Charlotte's
Web. But he is best-known for creating Scooby-Doo, who has been called "the most enduringly popular cartoon in TV history."
2. Scooby-Doo is the longest running American animated television series produced for Saturday morning television from 1969 to the present. The series was created by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears for Hanna-Barbera Productions, who produced numerous spin-offs and related works until 1997 when they were absorbed into
Warner Bros, which has handled production since then. Though the format of the show and the cast (and ages) of characters have varied significantly over the years, the most familiar versions of the show feature a talking Great Dane dog named Scooby- Doo and four teenagers: Fred "Freddie" Jones, Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, and
Norville "Shaggy" Rogers.
3. These five characters (officially referred to as "Mystery, Inc.") are detectives and drive around the world in a van called the "Mystery Machine.” They solve mysteries involving ghosts and other supernatural forces. At the end of each episode, the supernatural forces turn out to have a rational and logical explanation (usually a criminal trying to scare people away so that they can commit crimes). Later versions of the show featured different supernatural themes and included additional characters, such as Scooby's cousin Scooby-Dum and nephew Scrappy-Doo.
4. Scooby-Doo was originally broadcast on CBS from 1969 to 1976, when it moved to ABC. ABC cancelled the show in 1986, but presented a spin-off, A Pup
Named Scooby-Doo, from 1988 until 1991. A new Scooby-Doo series, What's New,
Scooby-Doo?, aired on the WB Network during the Kids' WB! programming block from 2002 until 2005. The current Scooby-Doo series, Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a
Clue!, airs Saturday mornings on The CW network. Repeats of the original series, as well as second-run episodes of What's New, Scooby-Doo? are broadcast frequently on the Cartoon Network.
5. Chris Suellentrop, a journalist who studied the Scooby Doo phenomenon, calls
Scooby Doo the most enduringly popular cartoon in TV history. The popular TV show was produced for 17 years, making it the longest-running network cartoon ever.
Because of syndication, it's never been off the air since it debuted, and it probably never will be. Now it has expanded its empire to the film industry with the release of
Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, the second of what will probably be many Scooby movies. In 2002, the first Scooby-Doo movie raked in $54.2 million on its opening weekend in theatres.
6. Many believe that understanding Scooby's durability is easier than explaining it. For years, not even the show's creators at Hanna-Barbera - the first TV animation studio and the inventors of "limited animation," (animation cheap enough for TV-size budgets) - realized the appeal of Scooby-Doo. Instead, The Flintstones, or even The
Jetsons, was thought to be the studio's flagship property.
7. The adorable dog star's Q rating tops Bugs Bunny's among kids. A Q rating is a way to measure the familiarity and appeal of a brand, company, celebrity, cartoon character or television show. The higher the Q rating, the more well-known and well thought of the item or person being scored is. Because of Scooby’s popularity, DVD titles consistently hit the best-seller lists and Scooby-licensed video games have been popular since the mid-'90s. In 2000, Scooby-Doo won a mock presidential election held by the Cartoon Network, which still airs an hour-and-a-half of Scooby shows each weekday as part of its "Scooby Universe" package. One key to perhaps understanding Scooby is to realize it has never tried to appeal to adults. It has always considered its goal was to attract little kids.
8. One early hint of the show's hold on children came in February 1971, when the BBC pulled Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! from the air, and 70 Scottish children staged a protest outside the Beeb's Scotland headquarters. A BBC employee told the Scottish Daily Record that the protest remains the biggest at that BBC location's history.
9. Still it is difficult to say exactly why the show has had such a long-standing appeal. Jim Millan, the writer-director of Scooby-Doo in StageFright—Live on Stage
(a touring theatrical production of Scooby-Doo) tried to come up with an explanation about the show's popularity. "They like Scooby's enthusiasm for life," he theorized to the Baltimore Sun. "It represents a youthful, optimistic America, where you can solve a problem with good intentions." To the Toronto Star, Millan compared Scooby-Doo to 19th-century European commedia dell'arte, with its stock characters and costumes.
"Scooby and Shaggy love to eat," Millan said. To Nashville's Tennessean, Millan said of Scooby, "He symbolizes youth, in a way."
10. Maybe Scooby's appeal makes sense when you compare it to the rest of kids'
TV. Most children's shows try to stuff a moral message down the audience's throat.
But the moral code of Scooby-Doo permeates the entire enterprise without you ever noticing it. The Washington Post's Hank Stuever concisely elucidated the "Scooby worldview" when the first live-action movie came out: "Kids should meddle, dogs are sweet, life is groovy, and if something scares you, you should confront it." What needs to be explained about that?
Adapted from: http://www.slate.com/id/2157397/?GT1=9010
True/False/No Information Read the text and answer the questions. Circle T if the sentence is True, F if the sentence is False and N if there is no information. (10 pts. Total; 1 pt. each)
1. The creator of the Scooby Doo character died in an T F N internment camp during World War II.
2. Many people consider Scooby Doo the most popular cartoon T F N character in history.
3. The weekly cartoon, Scooby Doo, is still produced by Hanna T F N Barbera Productions.
4. The show’s characters have remained the same age since the T F N show began in 1969.
5. Casey Kasem, a popular American DJ, does the voice of T F N Scooby Doo.
6. The show has expanded its format to movies and theatre. T F N
7. A lot of people have trouble understanding why Scooby Doo T F N is so popular.
8. Scooby Doo was elected President of the Cartoon Network T F N in 2000.
9. In recent years, the Scooby Doo franchise has tried to T F N capture a part of the adult audience.
10. Noted journalist, Hank Stuever thinks that the cartoon is T F N popular because it doesn’t try to teach a lesson.
Vocabulary in Context Read the text and answer the questions. Circle A, B, C or D. (10 pts. Total; 1 pt. each)
11. The word enduringly in paragraph 1 probably means ______.
A. temporarily B. rationally C. lastingly D. seriously
12. The words absorbed into in paragraph 2 probably means ______.
A. became a part of B. excluded from C. taken over by D. dissolved by
13. The words supernatural forces in paragraph 3 probably means ______.
A. strong energies B. ordinary powers C. military personnel D. unexplained occurrences
14. The word spin-off in paragraph 4 probably means ______.
A. a new show inspired by an old one B. a show that is being repeated C. a new idea for a cartoon character D. a show that has been cancelled
15. The word empire in paragraph 5 probably means ______.
A. product B. invention C. territory D. company
16. The word flagship in paragraph 6 probably means ______.
A. most famous B. strangest C. least popular D. biggest failure
17. The word mock in paragraph 7 probably means ______.
A. organized B. irrational C. preliminary D. simulated
18. The word hint in paragraph 8 probably means ______.
A. obstacle B. goal C. suggestion D. problem
19. The word symbolizes in paragraph 9 probably means ______.
A. attracts B. understands C. pictures D. represents
20. The word confront in paragraph 10 probably means ______.
A. face B. avoid C. keep away from D. worry about
Short Answer Write short answers to the following questions. (10 pts. Total)
21. Who created the cartoon series Scooby Doo? (1 pt.)
______
22. Name one thing that has changed about the show over the years. (1 pt.)
______
______
23. What is the profession of the Scooby Doo characters? (1 pt.)
______
24. If you want to watch episodes of Scooby Doo now, which network would you watch? (1 pt.)
______
25. Give one example of Scooby Doo’s popularity with American children. (1 pt.)
______
26. Give one example of Scooby Doo’s popularity abroad. (1 pt.)
______
27. Hank Stuever explains Scooby’s worldview in the following way: “Kids should meddle, dogs are sweet, life is groovy, and if something scares you, you should confront it.” What does he mean by this? (4 pts.)
Kids should meddle =______
Dogs are sweet = ______
Life is groovy =______
If something scares you, you should confront it= ______
______
Dog Gone Answer Key
1. F 2. T 3. F 4. F 5. N 6. T 7. T 8. F 9. F 10. F
11. C 12. A 13. D 14. A 15. C 16. A 17. D 18. C 19. D 20. A
21. Joe Ruby and Ken Spears (must have both names for the point)
22. Accept any of the following: The format of the show The cast The ages of the characters Additional characters like Scooby-Dum and Scrappy-Doo were added Different supernatural themes were featured
23. They are detectives working for Mystery, Inc.
24. CW Network
25. Accept any of the following:
DVDs are on the best seller list Scooby Doo video games have been popular since the 1990s Scooby Doo won a mock presidential election held on Cartoon Network Highest Q rating among cartoon characters First movie earned $54.2 million in theatres
26. In 1971 when the BBC stopped showing the cartoon, 70 children staged a protest (which was the biggest in the network’s history)
27. “Kids should meddle”=children should interfere “dogs are sweet” = dogs are cute and lovable “life is groovy” = life is cool “and if something scares you, you should confront it.” = if something/someone scares you, you should face your fear