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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. Who washes the cream separator?

2. Why does Mother say she likes Jersey cows better than Holsteins?

3. Where does Eldon and his family live?

4. Which of the animals killed each fall does Eldon say is the worst?

5. What is the F-12?

Short Essay Questions

1. When does Father take the plow shares in to be sharpened? Why does he do it then, and why does Eldon like to go along?

2. Describe what Father is working on during his evenings in the winter room.

3. What are some of the sounds Elden describes in the opening chapter?

4. Why is the lake called Jenny's Lake and what does Eldon say about it?

5. Describe what happens when Eldon and Mother take Father's lunch to the fields.

6. What is the first thing Eldon describes doing after the first snow?

7. Describe the stove in the winter room and what Wayne says the rails are for.

8. What prompts the fight between Eldon and Wayne in the opening paragraphs of "Winter," and what do the boys decide about their argument?

9. Why do the seagulls come to the field? What does Eldon think about them?

10. Who is Rex? What does he do around the farm? Why is he allowed to do that job?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why do you believe the author presented the story in first-person? Were there other alternatives? What major aspects of the story would have changed if the author had changed the perspective?

Essay Topic 2

What is the story Uncle David tells about Crazy Allen? What is Eldon's reaction to the story and why?

Essay Topic 3

What are the activities that go on in the winter room? Why are these important to each of the characters and to the family as a whole?

(see the answer keys)

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