View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Dependence on the potato had made the ________ vulnerable to the perils of the economy as well as to those of nature.
(a) Spanish.
(b) English.
(c) Germans.
(d) Irish.

2. According to the book, cannabis is now America's leading _______ with sinsemilla selling for upwards of $500 an ounce.
(a) Import.
(b) Export.
(c) Economic problem.
(d) Cash crop.

3. Gene flow normally occurs between closely related __________, so it seems that the Monsanto varieties will not spawn superweeds.
(a) Waters.
(b) Environments.
(c) Species.
(d) Lands.

4. __________ was what some people in England used to call the potato, which continued its separation from their diet.
(a) Bread root.
(b) Bread pudding.
(c) Root meal.
(d) Dirt root.

5. What is a good place to experiment and a place to try out new plants and techniques without having to risk a lot?
(a) Scientific lab.
(b) School.
(c) Flower pot.
(d) Garden.

6. John Chapman had the imagination to identify with the _________ in the ecology of the world.
(a) Flowers.
(b) Tulips.
(c) Bees.
(d) Potatoes.

7. When Pollan opened up the package to grow the NewLeaf potatoes, the card stated that he was now ________ to grow the potatoes.
(a) Authorized.
(b) Legalized.
(c) Licensed.
(d) Able.

8. Into what kind of plant have plant breeders inserted a gene from a firefly, making the plants glow, although for no apparent reason, according to Pollan?
(a) Spinach.
(b) Tomatoes.
(c) Potatoes.
(d) Tobacco.

9. The book suggests that deep down, many gardeners see themselves as ________ transforming compost, water, and light into beauty.
(a) Herbalists.
(b) Scientists.
(c) Spiritualists.
(d) Alchemists.

10. Where are the Monsanto headquarters located, according to Pollan's description in the book?
(a) Ausin.
(b) Chicago.
(c) St. Louis.
(d) New York.

11. ________, Pollan believes, is brutally reductive, simplifying nature's incomprehensible complexity to something humanly manageable.
(a) Sociology.
(b) Agriculture.
(c) Chemistry.
(d) Science.

12. The book states that the effect of making pot illegal was that the counterculture engaged in _______the plant.
(a) Weakening.
(b) Killing.
(c) Genetically modifying.
(d) Destroying.

13. Antheleme Brillat-Savarin noted, "Tell me what you _______ and I will tell you what you are."
(a) Know.
(b) Grow.
(c) Believe.
(d) Eat.

14. Psychoactive drugs serve as bridges between the worlds of matter and spirit, or in modern language _______and consciousness.
(a) Astronomy.
(b) Geometry.
(c) Geology.
(d) Chemistry.

15. ________, Pollan says, is the theme which unifies the questions being raised in agricultural biotechnology.
(a) Appeal.
(b) Truth.
(c) Uncertainty.
(d) Effectiveness.

Short Answer Questions

1. Some of the ways children have been known to seek this altered state of consciousness include all of the following except______.

2. Pollan says that he would call the images of nature and of growing to be the Agricultural ___________, if he did not think it sounded like too much of an oxymoron.

3. A _______ is one that is used for getting cuttings. Like the apples, the result of the impact of this may be detrimental to the species.

4. What is Pollan not allowed to do with the NewLeaf potatoes at the end of the year, according to the law?

5. The arts of _______ are how plants have explored their ingenuity applied to learning and adapting.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 490 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample