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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. What year did the Nearings complete the stone outhouse in Maine?

2. How much does an 18-inch walking space take up in a nine-foot greenhouse?

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

4. How did the Nearings obtain a freezer?

5. How many days was frost possible on the Vermont homestead?

Short Essay Questions

1. What caused the leaks in the pond?

2. How did the Nearings lay out a garden?

3. Why did the Nearings NOT chose a location in Europe for either one of their moves?

4. What kinds of visitors did the Nearings have at their farms.

5. What was the importance of Bretton Brubaker's work on the house in Maine?

6. Describe the house in Maine.

7. To bring the point home to her husband about the increasing number of visitors, how did Helen handle visitors who came to the door just before the move to Maine?

8. Why did the Nearings believe homesteaders should record everything?

9. What point do the Nearings make about personal style in a home?

10. How did the Nearings make applesauce?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What was the outcome of the Nearings' constant appeal to neighbors to live like them, follow their food choices, and be open-minded about their political views?

Essay Topic 2

Why did the Nearings leave New York? What was the political climate in 1932? What was happening in the nation? What did the Nearings do before they moved to Vermont?

Essay Topic 3

As others viewed life as meaningless and looked for forms of escape after the war, how did the Nearings view life? What did they mean by "urgent?"

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