tr11 u3 thor testA.fm Page 148 Monday, September 26, 2005 ...

Name Date

from Walden and from Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau

Selection Test A

Critical Reading Identify the letter of the choice that best answers the question.

1. At the beginning of the selection from Walden, what does Thoreau allow himself
to do through his imagination?
A. build houses all over his town
B. buy all the farms in his area
C. make as much money as he can
D. collect seeds from nearby places

2. What part of Thoreau’s philosophy is found in this passage from Walden?
Our life is frittered away by details. An honest man has hardly need to count more
than his ten fingers, or in extreme cases he may add his ten toes, and lump the rest.

A. paying attention to details
B. living a life of simplicity
C. aiming for personal honesty
D. working with one’s hands

3. What is a regular element of Thoreau’s style in Walden?
A. to ask questions and then answer them
B. to state main ideas only once
C. to jump quickly from idea to idea
D. to expand on personal experiences

4. Which element of Thoreau’s style is shown in these passages from Walden?
Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a
hundred or a thousand . . . Simplify, simplify. Instead of three meals a day, if it be
necessary eat but one; instead of a hundred dishes, five . . .

A. using mathematical examples
B. using themes from the kitchen
C. repeating main ideas
D. using only short sentences

5. Which of Thoreau’s main beliefs is expressed in this passage from Walden?
If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a
different drummer. Let him step to the music which hears, however measured or far
away.

A. a belief in appreciating music
B. a belief in doing what others do
C. a belief in living as an individual
D. a belief in having close friends

Unit 3 Resources: A Growing Nation

© Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Prentice Hall. All rights reserved.

148

Name Date

6. What situation caused Thoreau to write Civil Disobedience?
A. trade laws with India
B. uprisings in California
C. the Mexican War
D. President Polk’s election

7. What does Thoreau call for, in terms of government, at the conclusion of this
selection from Civil Disobedience?
A. a better government
B. no government at all
C. a government run by businesses
D. a government run by a king

8. What is Thoreau’s central idea in Civil Disobedience?
A. the ability of government to control others
B. the importance of trade in government
C. the ability of people to govern themselves
D. the importance of armies in government

Vocabulary and Grammar

9. In which of these sentences is the meaning of the word superfluous expressed?
A. Thoreau imagined himself buying all the farms around his town.
B. Thoreau wanted to get all unnecessary concerns out of his life.
C. Thoreau believed governments were best when they governed not at all.
D. Thoreau believed in the importance of individual action.

10. Which of these phrases is an infinitive phrase?
A. “I wished to live deliberately”
B. “took his farm at his price”
C. “let your affairs be as two or three”
D. “The light which puts out our eyes”

Unit 3 Resources: A Growing Nation

© Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Prentice Hall. All rights reserved.

149

Name Date

Essay

11. In Walden, Thoreau says, “I left the woods for as good a reason as I went there. Per-
haps it seemed to me that I had several more lives to live, and could not spare any
more time for that one. It is remarkable how easily and insensibly we fall into a par-
ticular route, and make a beaten track for ourselves.” What do you think he means
by falling into “a particular route”? Why does he see doing the same thing over and
over as a problem? Write a brief essay to express your opinions. Use at least two
examples from Walden to support your opinions.

12. In Civil Disobedience, how does Thoreau compare governments to people, in terms
of getting things done? Does he think governments are useful? Write a brief essay to
express Thoreau’s beliefs. Use at least two examples from Civil Disobedience to sup-
port your ideas.

Unit 3 Resources: A Growing Nation

© Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Prentice Hall. All rights reserved.

150