Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
Comprehension
The questions below refer to the selection “ from Walden, or Life in the Woods.”
____ 1. How long did Thoreau live in the woods at Walden Pond?
____ 2. In the section called “Economy,” which of the following activities best illustrates Thoreau’s doctrine of simplicity?
____ 3. In the section called “Where I Lived, and What I Lived For,” Thoreau says he wants to live at Walden because he —
____ 4. In the section called “Where I Lived, and What I Lived For,” Thoreau gives his opinion of progress when he —
____ 5. In the section called “Where I Lived, and What I Lived For,” what is Thoreau’s attitude toward individuality and conformity?
____ 6. In the section called “Solitude,” Thoreau —
____ 7. In the section called “The Bean Field,” Thoreau shows his feelings about working in the fields. He —
____ 8. In the section called “Brute Neighbors,” what do the ants symbolize?
____ 9. In the section called “Conclusion,” Thoreau says that he is leaving Walden because he —
____ 10. With which of the following statements would Thoreau most likely agree?
Literary Focus
The questions below refer to the selection “ from Walden, or Life in the Woods.”
____ 11. When Thoreau uses the metaphor, “I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life,” he means that he —
____ 12. Which of the following statements is a metaphor?
____ 13. Which statement is the best paraphrase of the following metaphor: “We do not ride on the railroad; it rides upon us”?
Reading Skills: Making Generalizations About a Writer’s Beliefs
The question below refers to the selection “ from Walden, or Life in the Woods.”
____ 14. Which of the following generalizations best summarizes Thoreau’s opinions about life?
Comprehension
The questions below refer to the selection “ from
Resistance to Civil Government.”
____ 15. What view of government does Thoreau express in the opening paragraph?
____ 16. What is Thoreau’s opinion of the Mexican war that was being fought when he wrote this essay?
____ 17. In the second paragraph, to what does Thoreau compare the government?
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____ 18. In Thoreau’s view, the practical reason the majority rules in a democracy is that the —
____ 19. What does Thoreau ask for instead of no government?
____ 20. Thoreau thinks that if people want a better government, they should —
____ 21. Thoreau’s main hope for the democracy of his time was that it would —
____ 22. Thoreau suggests that slavery could be abolished in America by —
____ 23. After Thoreau is jailed, he —
____ 24. Thoreau’s primary purpose in this essay is to persuade people to —
Literary Focus: Paradox
The questions below refer to the selection “ from Resistance to Civil Government.”
____ 25. What is a paradox ?
____ 26. Which of the following statements describes a paradoxical situation in the selection?
____ 27. What does Thoreau mean by the following paradox: “That government is best which governs not at all”?
____ 28. Thoreau uses paradoxes because he believes that —
Comprehension
The questions below refer to the selections “ from On Nonviolent Resistance”; “ from Letter from Birmingham
City Jail.”
____ 29. According to Gandhi, what are the two ways of countering injustice?
____ 30. What does Gandhi mean when he says: “No clapping is possible without two hands to do it. . . .”?
____ 31. Gandhi argues that government exists only —
____ 32. The tone of Gandhi’s essay is best described as —
____ 33. King justifies breaking some laws but upholding other laws when he —
____ 34. According to King, an unjust law is a law that —
____ 35. King develops his arguments primarily though —
____ 36. What paradox does King use to conclude his essay?
____ 37. On hearing King’s argument, Gandhi most likely would —
____ 38. Gandhi’s arguments differ from King’s arguments in that Gandhi —
____ 39. Blue whales are
____ 40. Whalesharks eat
Completion
Complete each statement.
Vocabulary Development
On the line provided, write the Vocabulary word that best completes each sentence.

3 pertinent encumbrance impervious temporal superfluous
41. The hut was so well constructed that it was ____________________ to rain and stayed dry even in fierce rainstorms.
42. As much as possible, Thoreau disdains the ____________________, or worldly, aspects of civilization and concentrates on simplicity.
43. Thoreau took only what he needed with him to the woods, leaving ____________________, needless items behind.
44. Unnecessary objects would just be a(n) ____________________, a burden to him.
45. Thoreau’s point about living simply is especially ____________________ today, when we question how to conduct a meaningful life.
Matching
Vocabulary Development
Match the Vocabulary word with the definition from the list below. Write the letter of the definition on the line provided. a. convenience; means to an end b. eagerness c. inborn; built-in
____ 46. expedient d. generations to come e. misdirected; corrupted
____ 47. perverted
____ 48. posterity
____ 49. alacrity
____ 50. inherent

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