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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. After living in the mountains, where did the Nearings want to live in their new home?

2. What did the Nearings think was the downfall of most homesteaders?

3. What purpose do the stones serve in the greenhouse?

4. What is most impressive about bed gardening?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. How did the Nearings make applesauce?

2. 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?

3. How was the homestead in Maine to be different than the one in Vermont? What were the Nearings looking for when they began their search for a new home?

4. How were the Nearings gardens like Japanese gardens?

5. In what ways did the Nearings use wood from the forest?

6. When the Nearings found a worn-out apple tree near the blueberries, how did they make it grow?

7. What did the Nearings continue to find on the farm?

8. How did the Nearings feel as they began to age about life?

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

10. Why did the Nearings build their first greenhouse?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What were the Nearings' personal beliefs regarding meat? How did their beliefs change through the years?

Essay Topic 2

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?"

Essay Topic 3

How was the planting cycle used by the Nearings like the Japanese planting cycle? Why did the Japanese use gardens in a similar way to the Nearings?

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