Pretest

Question 1

In paragraphs three and four of “Where I Lived and What I Lived For” in Walden , how does Thoreau contrast the way he lives with the way others live?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

B: He believes his life to be extremely simple, and he believes others’ lives to be needlessly complicated.

Question 2

In the second paragraph of “Spring” in Walden , how does the contrast of two time periods aid the development of a theme?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

C: Thoreau’s description of a burst of light on a winter day resembles his own enlightenment.

Question 3

How does the progress of the last paragraph of “Where I Lived and What I Lived For” communicate the main idea of Walden ?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

C: Just as the paragraph moves from gazing at water to digging in the earth, the excerpt moves from minimal knowledge of nature to more in-depth knowledge.; D: Thoreau moves from gazing at the water to burrowing into the earth, just as the excerpt shows a progress from observation to contemplation.

Question 4

Read the excerpt from Walden . Let us spend one day as deliberately as Nature, and not be thrown off the track by every nutshell and mosquito’s wing that falls on the rails. Let us rise early and fast, or break fast, gently and without perturbation; let company come and let company go, let the bells ring and the children cry—determined to make a day of it. How does Thoreau use the imagery of bells in the excerpt?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

B: The bells are a symbol of civilization.; C: The bells represent fate.

Question 5

Which best states the overall structure of Walden ?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

D: The work describes Thoreau’s thoughts over the course of a year spent immersed in the natural world.

Question 6

Read the excerpt from Walden . This is a delicious evening, when the whole body is one sense, and imbibes delight through every pore. I go and come with a strange liberty in Nature, a part of herself. As I walk along the stony shore of the pond in my shirt-sleeves, though it is cool as well as cloudy and windy, and I see nothing special to attract me, all the elements are unusually congenial to me. Which best states what the imagery in the excerpt suggests?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

C: Thoreau feels as if he is in harmony with the aspects of his environment.; D: Thoreau believes he is experiencing a perfect night that will never happen again.

Question 7

Read the excerpt from “Conclusion” in Walden . The surface of the earth is soft and impressible by the feet of men; and so with the paths which the mind travels. How worn and dusty, then, must be the highways of the world, how deep the ruts of tradition and conformity! I did not wish to take a cabin passage, but rather to go before the mast and on the deck of the world, for there I could best see the moonlight amid the mountains. I do not wish to go below now. Which best describes the purpose of the imagery in the excerpt?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

C: It illustrates Thoreau’s goal to continue exploring the world around him in a unique and fulfilling way.; D: It encourages readers to experience Thoreau’s work as if they are taking a journey around the world.

Question 8

In the first paragraph of “Conclusion” in Walden , how does Thoreau explain his departure from the woods?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

C: He explains his departure as the movement from one part of his life to another.; D: He explains that he left the woods because he had nothing left to write about.

Question 9

Read the excerpt from Walden . Standing on the snow-covered plain, as if in a pasture amid the hills, I cut my way first through a foot of snow, and then a foot of ice, and open a window under my feet, where, kneeling to drink, I look down into the quiet parlor of the fishes, pervaded by a softened light as through a window of ground glass, with its bright sanded floor the same as in summer; there a perennial waveless serenity reigns as in the amber twilight sky, corresponding to the cool and even temperament of the inhabitants. Heaven is under our feet is well as over our heads. Which best describes the purpose of the imagery in this excerpt?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

A: to illustrate the author’s calm, contemplative mood

Question 10

Read the excerpt from Walden . I am on the alert for the first signs of spring, to hear the chance note of some arriving bird, or the striped squirrel’s chirp, for his stores must be now nearly exhausted, or see the woodchuck venture out of his winter quarters. How do the images in the excerpt relate to Thoreau’s overall quest in Walden ?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

B: They create a connection between Thoreau’s experience and the solitary animals that he is observing.; C: They demonstrate that Thoreau has a greater understanding of animals now than he used to have.

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