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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 did Walter Twing do on Saturdays?

2. In the breakdown of the Nearing's diet, how was the intake of vegetables broken down?

3. At the Nearing's house, what "rounded out" breakfast?

4. What did most friends of the Nearings dub their guesthouses?

5. What political persuasion were most Vermonters?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What was the Nearings' view about old buildings? What was their solution to old buildings?

3. What was the planting season for the Nearings? How did they plant their gardens?

4. How did the Nearings pick the lettuce in the winter to keep it from wilting?

5. 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?

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

7. Why did the American Indians live in Connecticut and not Vermont?

8. What were Frank Lloyd Wright's basic ideas for building that the Nearings followed?

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

10. Who was this book written for?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How was the farm in Vermont different from the farm in Maine? How were they the same?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the general workday. How did the Nearings work? How many hours were devoted to work and how many to leisure? Why did they set up their farm in this way? What were the benefits? What were the drawbacks?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the "four-four-four" formula for life. What is the final four in this formula? Why did the Nearings wait until the end of the book to reveal this formula? Is this formula the key to life for the Nearings?

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This section contains 772 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample