"They're Made Out of Meat" Reading Check

1. The two speakers in the story believe that...
   1. the meat beings are superior.
   2. they should kill the meat beings.
   3. the meat beings are dangerous.
   4. they are better than the meat beings.
2. What do the two speakers decide to do?
   1. talk to the meat beings
   2. avoid contact with the meat beings
   3. invade the meat beings' planet
   4. probe more of the meat beings
3. At the end of the story, the speakers...
   1. are revealed to be humans.
   2. disappear from the meat's dreams.
   3. move on to contact another lifeform.
   4. move on to contact a planet called Earth.
4. Re-read the following quote from the story.

   "We picked up several from different parts of the planet, took them aboard our recon vessels, and probed them all the way through. They’re completely meat."

   What does the word recon mean?
   1. thinking, believing, or calculating something
   2. remembering a past event or information
   3. inspecting or exploring an area
   4. repairing, cleaning, or restoring something
5. "They're Made Out of Meat" is told entirely through dialogue. Why do you think the author chose to tell the story this way? How does this choice impact the tone of the story?
6. The speakers in the story describes human beings as "meat." Why do you think Terry Bisson chose the word "meat" instead of something like "organic" or "flesh"? What emotion does the word "meat" evoke?
7. Which statement best expresses the theme/central idea of the story?
   1. Fear of the unknown causes people to make assumptions and reject what they do not understand.
   2. People have the tendency to avoid uncomfortable situations because they are insecure.
   3. Despite good intentions, it is not possible to treat everyone equally.
   4. Prejudice is a result of weak people trying to overpower people with influence and authority.
8. Which detail best supports the answer to the previous question?
   1. "They talk by flapping their meat at each other. They can even sing by squirting air through their meat."
   2. "Officially, we are required to contact, welcome and log in any and all sentient races or multibeings in this quadrant of the Universe."
   3. "It seems harsh, but there is a limit. Do we really want to make contact with meat?"
   4. "We went into their heads and smoothed out their meat so that we're just a dream to them."
9. What does marking the sector "unoccupied" reveal about the two speakers?
   1. They think the beings made out of meat are too dangerous.
   2. They frequently erase official records of new sentient beings.
   3. They reject the idea that the beings made out of meat are sentient.
   4. They do not want to interact with beings that are made out of meat.
10. Which detail from the text best shows the speakers' disregard for the beings made out of meat?
    1. "... they've been trying to get in touch with us for almost a hundred of their years."
    2. "I imagine it wants to explore the universe, contact other sentiences, swap ideas and information."
    3. "What's there to say? 'Hello, meat. How's it going?'"
    4. "They can travel to other planets in special meat containers."
11. An allegory is a story where the characters or events represent a deeper meaning. "They're Made Out of Meat" is an allegory about prejudice. What do you think is the author's deeper message about how we prejudge and make assumptions? How does this influence human behavior?