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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How does the family dog spend most of its time?
(a) Sitting on the porch.
(b) Guarding the cows.
(c) Chasing squirrels.
(d) Hunting.

2. Why do Mother and Father let Eldon and Wayne jump into the straw pile for hours at a time?
(a) It's fun.
(b) They don't let them jump more than a few times.
(c) To chase all the mice out of the stack.
(d) To pack it down.

3. Uncle David says summer is close to fall, and spring is close to summer. To what season is winter close?
(a) Fall.
(b) Spring.
(c) None, winter stands alone.
(d) Summer.

4. Who washes the cream separator?
(a) Father.
(b) Mother.
(c) Wayne and Eldon.
(d) Nels.

5. Why does the blacksmith have to sharpen the plows every summer?
(a) The plows get dull from being used on frozen ground.
(b) The plows rust over the winter months.
(c) The rocky land dulls the blades.
(d) It's the only time Uncle David goes to town.

6. What do Eldon and Wayne sleep on?
(a) The couch.
(b) Bunk beds.
(c) Pallets on the floor.
(d) They share a full-sized bed.

7. What color is Eldon's house?
(a) White.
(b) Red.
(c) Brown.
(d) Blue.

8. How old is Uncle David?
(a) Seventy-six.
(b) No one knows.
(c) Sixty-seven.
(d) Eighty.

9. Why is the corn cultivated several times while it's still young?
(a) To loosen the soil around the roots of the corn.
(b) To work the fertilizer deeper into the soil.
(c) So the weeds don't get a start.
(d) So Father will have something to do.

10. How does Mother keep coffee hot when she takes it for Father's lunch?
(a) She wraps a jar in sacking.
(b) She doesn't, he likes it cold.
(c) She builds a campfire near the field to warm it.
(d) She puts it in a thermos.

11. Where do the pigs run when they escape from their pen?
(a) Onto the porch.
(b) Into the garden.
(c) Across Wayne.
(d) All over the barn.

12. Why does Mother say she likes Jersey cows better than Holsteins?
(a) There's more cream in a Jersey's milk.
(b) The Jerseys are gentler.
(c) There is less fat in a Jersey's milk.
(d) The Jerseys give more milk.

13. Why do the men have to wear handkerchiefs over their noses during thrashing time?
(a) There is dust.
(b) It is a tradition.
(c) They want to keep cool.
(d) They're playing a game.

14. What is the first animal to be killed each fall?
(a) A pig.
(b) Geese.
(c) Chickens.
(d) A steer.

15. What are the books Uncle David sometimes reads at the kitchen table at night?
(a) Old Farmer's Almanacs.
(b) A Bible and an encyclopedia.
(c) No one knows.
(d) Western novels.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Eldon say he doesn't work as hard as the others in the family?

2. What does the snow on the elm limb look like?

3. What is on the cover of the Zane Grey western Eldon and Wayne find?

4. How many seagulls arrive each summer during plowing season?

5. What does Wayne want to do when he grows up?

(see the answer keys)

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