View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How did the Nearings obtain a freezer?
(a) They traded for one.
(b) The were given one.
(c) They bought one.
(d) They inherited one.

2. What was the subsoil of the pond area?
(a) Black dirt.
(b) Yellow clay.
(c) Red clay.
(d) Mud.

3. Which way should a garden slope to get maximum sun exposure and good drainage?
(a) Gently toward the south.
(b) Rolling to the north.
(c) To the east for sunrise.
(d) Tumbling down the west.

4. What did the Nearings think was the downfall of most homesteaders?
(a) They worked 8 hours a day.
(b) They spent too much money up front.
(c) They tended to be inexperienced and impatient.
(d) They couldn't take the hard work days.

5. What was the nearest airport to the house in Maine?
(a) Boston.
(b) Bangor, Maine.
(c) St. Louis.
(d) New York.

6. What year did the Nearings complete the stone outhouse in Maine?
(a) 1944.
(b) 1973.
(c) 1966.
(d) 1952.

7. Who owned the land and home the Nearings wanted to settle on in Maine?
(a) Venice Waller.
(b) Opal Grange.
(c) Mary Stackhouse.
(d) George Near.

8. How did the Nearings eat their bread?
(a) With ots of butter.
(b) In whole wheat loaves.
(c) In loaves.
(d) The grain unground and unkneaded.

9. What became the norm at every newcomer's house in the valley in Vermont after the war?
(a) Sewing circles.
(b) Political discussions.
(c) Piano evenings.
(d) Liquored parties.

10. What did Greg Summers, the man from Wisconsin with a background in art, do for cash?
(a) He photographed the Nearings.
(b) He painted.
(c) He sold plants.
(d) He took printshop jobs.

11. How deep was the stone garden wall in Maine?
(a) 24 to 26 inches.
(b) 30 to 48 inches.
(c) 4 to 5 inches.
(d) 62 to 98 inches.

12. What were Helen's parents?
(a) Teachers.
(b) Mormons.
(c) Theologists.
(d) Theosophists.

13. When did the Nearings know that they were on the right track with their winter gardening?
(a) When they had food all winter long.
(b) When visitors came and they had enough to eat.
(c) When they canned all their food.
(d) When they ate a fresh salad.

14. What makes the best fertilizer naturally, according to the Nearings?
(a) The forest.
(b) Hay.
(c) The outhouse.
(d) Wood.

15. How were the Nearings travel expenses paid when they were asked to speak or lecture?
(a) Their travel expenses were paid for by those who asked them to talk.
(b) The borrowed the money.
(c) They had a travel allowance in their budget.
(d) They had rich relatives.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is "wooding-it?"

2. Who occupied one of the guest cabins in Maine for years?

3. How long could the Nearings harvest their fall garden?

4. What does "pay as you go" mean to the Nearings?

5. Within 5 weeks, how hot would the compost pile get?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 467 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample