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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What did the Nearings have to do to pick their sweet peas?
(a) Hoe the row and pull them out.
(b) Stand on a stool or ladder.
(c) Put at ladder up in a tree.
(d) Bend and kneel on the ground.

2. According to the author, who defined the "small community"?
(a) Frank Lloyd Wright.
(b) The Nearings.
(c) Arthur E. Morgan, Baker Brrownell, and Ralph Borsodi.
(d) The state.

3. Who did Frederick Van de Water represent during the mail battle?
(a) Forestry development.
(b) The U.S. Government.
(c) Ski Enterprises.
(d) Freeman Inc.

4. What was NEVER used in the compost pile?
(a) Worms.
(b) Sawdust.
(c) Wood.
(d) Paper.

5. Why did the Nearings NOT join a communal experience?
(a) There were none available or functioning into which they could have happily and effectively fit.
(b) They didn't want to move to the west coast.
(c) They didn't want to move to Europe.
(d) They didn't want to work with other people.

6. Where did one enter the Nearing home in Vermont?
(a) Through the cellar.
(b) Through the door in the kitchen.
(c) Through a double front door.
(d) Through a side door from the garage.

7. How did the Nearings divide their "jobs to be done" on their card index of activities?
(a) By "cash labor" and "free labor."
(b) By "clear weather jobs" and "rainy day jobs."
(c) By "building projects" and "garden projects."
(d) By "wood and fuel jobs" and "canning."

8. What happened when someone went out to work in the garden after lunch?
(a) They fell asleep in the shade of the garden.
(b) Their productivity was very high.
(c) They stayed later and worked most of the afternoon.
(d) They were escaping and never returned.

9. Why did the Nearings like stone buildings?
(a) They were easy to build with.
(b) They were not as pretty as wood, but more solid.
(c) They were like a fortress and kept visitors away.
(d) They were cheaper to maintain, would not burn and were cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.

10. What did the Nearings sell as a cash crop in Vermont?
(a) Dairy.
(b) Syrup and sugar.
(c) Vegetables.
(d) Cattle.

11. What was inserted into the compost pile to help break down matter?
(a) Ants.
(b) Bees.
(c) Snakes.
(d) Earth worms and worm capsules.

12. What did the Nearings NEVER buy?
(a) Candy, pastries, meats, soft drinks, alcohol, tea, coffee, or tobacco.
(b) Fresh fruits and vegetables.
(c) Oils.
(d) Avacados.

13. When the Nearings talked about being vegetarians, which neighbors changed their habits and also became vegetarians?
(a) Only a neighbor man who stayed with them for a long while.
(b) 2 close friends.
(c) None.
(d) Most of their neighbors.

14. What does healthy soil teem with?
(a) Wood.
(b) A terrible stench.
(c) Organic life.
(d) Food.

15. What direction do the rows in a garden need to be planted to assure maximum sun to the roots?
(a) Not in rows, but in pods.
(b) At right angles.
(c) East and West.
(d) North and South.

Short Answer Questions

1. What kind of furniture did the Nearings use in their new stone home?

2. How did the Nearings ask workers how much they wanted for a job on the farm?

3. What did the Nearings do with the spring they found in the back of the cellar-hole?

4. What kind of events were held on Saturday nights in the small Vermont town?

5. How did the Nearings hold the concrete and stones in place to form the wall?

(see the answer keys)

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