View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What kind of schedule did the Nearings keep on Sunday?
(a) They ate breakfast in silence.
(b) They attended praise worship and then had amatuer music shows in the evening.
(c) They went to church in the morning and worked in the afternoon.
(d) They had no schedule.

2. Why did the Nearings like stone buildings?
(a) They were not as pretty as wood, but more solid.
(b) They were easy to build with.
(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.

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

4. The Nearings thought living in Vermont would be justified as an example of sane living in an _____________.
(a) Removed area.
(b) Utopian society.
(c) Sane world.
(d) Insane world.

5. How did the Nearings light their home?
(a) Electricity.
(b) Gas.
(c) With kerosene and candles.
(d) Candles.

Short Answer Questions

1. What two farms did the Nearings buy when they got to Vermont?

2. In Vermont, what did the Nearings NOT use to keep food cold?

3. Whose ideas of design did the Nearings follow when building their stone homes?

4. What did the Nearings find that made a perfect base for their house in Vermont?

5. How did the Nearings make applesauce?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens to flour when it is processed?

2. Describe how the Nearings made fruit juice as a simple process.

3. Why were the music sessions a community success? What was different about them that made people want to stay and visit?

4. What was the Nearings' view of keeping animals? How far did this belief system go?

5. How did the Nearings trade work with their neighbors? What example can you give?

6. What kind of visitors came to stay at the farm? Who were successful, and who were not and why?

7. How did the Nearings plant throughout the winter and continue to eat from the garden?

8. When others thought the Nearings were self-punishing, how did they view their life?

9. How did the Nearings decorate? What kind of furniture and fireplaces did they use?

10. How much time did it take for the Nearings to provide food for the year, furnish their house and fuel, and provide needed repairs on the farm? What were the positive outcomes of their system?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 930 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample