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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. The author observes a pair of swallows in a nest by his cabin and how quickly they move on with their lives when ____________.

2. What does the author awaken to on his first morning?

3. In "Habits and Hunts," what has the author given up?

4. The families have lived in the area since _________, and the author is a friend of the descendants of those first settlers.

5. In the section "Flying Samaras and Consciousness," the author writes about the little rotary seeds of the ____________ tree known as samaras.

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the author learn about the life cycles of plants and animals in "The Urgency of Spring"?

2. What takes place in "The Time of Birdsong"? Why is this important to the author?

3. What does the author notice in "October 6 Cherry HIll Drive"? Why might this be important?

4. How does "August 9-13 Some Berries" lead to a reflection of the author's childhood?

5. What does the author learn about living simply in his first two months?

6. What happens to the author's vegetables? How might he feel about this?

7. Describe "October 1 The Foliage." How is "October 1 The Foliage" an important chapter?

8. What does the author notice about the wasp and caterpillars?

9. What takes place in "September 27 Starting a Sugar Shack"?

10. How is the author's sense of smell important to him?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

At several times throughout the book the author describes and discusses the history of the land.

Part 1) Describe this history. Why does the author tell his readers about the history of the people of Maine, as well as the geological history of the area? Is this important information for the story? Why or why not? How is this information connected to other aspects of the story?

Part 2) What else does the author study during his time in the Maine woods? Why does he study this? How is this study, as a whole, an important part of the author's time in the Maine woods?

Part 3) How is studying a part of your everyday life? How does this affect you? How can you benefit from studying? How can people, in general, benefit from studying?

Essay Topic 2

The author goes for many runs.

Part 1) Describe these runs. Why does the author choose to go on these runs? Why are they important to him? What do they reveal about him?

Part 2) How are his runs tied to other events in this book? What else is important to the author while he is living in the cabin? Why?

Part 3) What activities do you participate in? Why? What do they reveal about you? How are they important to you and your life?

Essay Topic 3

The author is sick of celebrating Christmas in the traditional American way.

Part 1) How has he come to this conclusion? Why might he feel this way? Might these feelings change again? Why or why not?

Part 2) How might he want to celebrate Christmas? Why might he want to celebrate it in this way? How might it reflect his lifestyle since he has lived in the cabin in the Maine woods?

Part 3) How do you celebrate holidays? Do you celebrate in a traditionally American way? Why or why not? Would you change the way you celebrate? If so, how would you change and why would you change? If not, why not?

(see the answer keys)

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