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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does the author believe about acts of physical courage?
(a) men do them more than women
(b) they can tire you out
(c) they are energizing
(d) they are heroic

2. Dillard says that a particular object remains unseen until what happens?
(a) a light is turned on
(b) one's attention is focused on it
(c) it moves
(d) the name of the object is known

3. At a ranch, Dillard drew a horse. It wasn't a good picture. Others who lived at the ranch drew great horses. Why?
(a) they had a lot of practice drawing horses
(b) they loved horses
(c) they knew all the bones and muscles of a horse
(d) they were more artistic

4. Why are starlings hated in the Tinker Creek area?
(a) they scare the children by flying around them
(b) they are smelly, messy, and noisy
(c) they fly into houses and make nests
(d) they eat all the worms and leave the ground bare

5. What does she realize is the best way to quiet her mind?
(a) taking a sleeping pill
(b) sitting quietly and breathing deeply
(c) counting from 100 to zero backwards
(d) by offering a nonchalant nod to the presence of words in the head

6. What is the translation of trompes-l' esprit ?
(a) tribulation preceeds victory
(b) trick of the mind
(c) triumph and agony
(d) till tomorrow

7. What does the author say the future is?
(a) baby birds who have just hatched
(b) a cricket's song on a sultry night
(c) a wind coming from the east
(d) light on the water and a spirit

8. What changes about the view around Dillard's home when winter comes?
(a) nothing changes about the view
(b) winter opens vistas around Dillard's home so she can see other homes
(c) the view looks stark and empty
(d) the snow covered trees block her view of the creek

9. What is one of Dillard's main occupations in the winter?
(a) reading
(b) knitting
(c) watching television
(d) sewing

10. Why did early Eskimos love winter?
(a) they like to celebrate winter soltice
(b) the whales are closer to shore
(c) it is a time to use their sleds to visit other Eskimos
(d) the seals are easier to kill

11. What does Dillard suggest is a similarity between her and plankton?
(a) they both live alone
(b) they both carry stuff on their back
(c) they are both unaware of what they're doing
(d) they both live in or near Tinker Creek

12. How are Eskimos able to survive in such a harsh environment as theirs?
(a) their igloos are kept very warm
(b) they wear seal fur
(c) they eat a lot of whale
(d) they had to possess an intimate understanding of their natural world

13. Dillard wrote, "the present is fleet." What did she mean by this statement?
(a) the present is like a group of ships
(b) the present is the future
(c) there is no present
(d) the present goes by so quick one can barely glimpse it

14. Why did Xerxes stop the advance of his entire army?
(a) to watch a beautiful sunset
(b) to get ready to attack the Greeks
(c) to meditate on the beauty of a sycamore tree
(d) to cut a path through a dense forest

15. If there were only one tree in the world, what would happen, according to the author?
(a) the world would cease to exist
(b) humans would all live around the tree
(c) there would not be enough oxygen to breath
(d) all creatures would travel to touch it in order to feel secure

Short Answer Questions

1. Dillard sees so much in the natural world which seems paradoxical. Why?

2. In addition to form and texture, what does the author believe influences beauty?

3. Who does Dillard think gravitates towards the field of botany?

4. What does Dillard say about humans and change?

5. Even though she is no scientist, what did Dillard decide she will do in her valley?

(see the answer keys)

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