Chapter IV: Sounds Quiz — Walden Pond

by Henry David Thoreau

Comprehension Quiz: Chapter IV: Sounds

What does Thoreau choose to do during his first summer at Walden instead of reading books?

  • He writes poetry and keeps a detailed journal of his observations
  • He hoes beans and sits contemplatively in his doorway for hours
  • He builds additional rooms onto his cabin and improves the property
  • He explores the surrounding woods and maps the local terrain carefully

How does Thoreau compare his sense of time at Walden to that of the Puri Indians?

  • He says both he and the Puri Indians use sundials to track the hours
  • He notes that like the Puri Indians, he measures time by the seasons only
  • He compares his timelessness to the Puri Indians' single word for yesterday, today, and tomorrow
  • He explains that the Puri Indians, like himself, follow the railroad schedule

What mythological figure does Thoreau compare the railroad to?

  • Zeus, the king of the gods who commands thunder and lightning
  • Prometheus, the Titan who stole fire and gave it to humankind
  • Atropos, the fate who never turns aside and cuts the thread of life
  • Hermes, the messenger god who travels swiftly between realms

What happens to the drovers and their dogs when livestock is transported by train?

  • The drovers ride proudly with their animals while the dogs run alongside the tracks
  • The drovers cling to their useless sticks while the dogs are left behind, having lost the scent
  • The drovers are hired as railroad employees and the dogs are sent ahead by wagon
  • The drovers protest the railroad and release the animals before they reach the station

How does Thoreau describe the screech owls' cry?

  • As a cheerful melody that lifts the spirits during long winter evenings
  • As a gentle lullaby that soothes the listener into peaceful sleep at night
  • As a "dismal scream" like mourning women, the "dark and tearful side of music"
  • As an irritating noise that disturbs his concentration and disrupts his writing

What does Thoreau compare the bullfrogs to in the chapter?

  • Church choir singers performing solemn hymns at a Sunday service
  • Ancient wine-bibbers and wassailers holding a banquet on a Stygian lake
  • Roman soldiers marching in formation around the perimeter of the pond
  • Elderly village councilmen debating civic matters at a town hall meeting

What does Thoreau mean when he opens the chapter by saying "Much is published, but little printed"?

  • He is criticizing the publishing industry for producing too many low-quality books
  • He means that nature constantly reveals truths, but very little of this wisdom appears in books
  • He is complaining that his own manuscripts have been rejected by publishers
  • He means that newspapers exaggerate stories but rarely print factual information

Which of the following does Thoreau say he actually heard from his cabin at Walden Pond?

  • The crow of a rooster at dawn from a nearby farmyard
  • The whip-poor-wills chanting their vespers at half-past seven
  • The singing of larks and orioles visiting his clearing regularly
  • Children crying in a neighboring house across the pond

Which of these events actually occurs in Chapter IV: Sounds?

  • Thoreau takes a boat ride across Walden Pond to observe the far shore
  • Thoreau places all his furniture outdoors on the grass while cleaning his floor
  • Thoreau invites a neighbor to share dinner at his cabin by the pond
  • Thoreau plants a flower garden in the cleared space around his cabin

What does the word "tantivy" mean as Thoreau uses it to describe "the tantivy of wild pigeons"?

  • A melodious song or musical call produced by a group of birds
  • A swift, headlong rush or gallop through the air at great speed
  • A large flock or congregation of birds gathered in one location
  • A graceful, spiraling descent from a high altitude to the ground

What are "threnodies" in the passage about the screech owls "expiating their sins with their wailing hymns or threnodies"?

  • Triumphant songs of victory celebrating conquest over an enemy
  • Rhythmic work songs chanted to maintain pace during physical labor
  • Songs of lamentation or mourning, especially for the dead or fallen
  • Sacred hymns sung during religious ceremonies and worship services

What does "Stygian" mean when Thoreau describes the bullfrogs singing on their "Stygian lake"?

  • Brilliantly illuminated, as if by moonlight reflecting off still water
  • Extremely dark, gloomy, and forbidding, relating to the underworld River Styx
  • Shallow and marshy, typical of a wetland or stagnant body of water
  • Frozen and ice-covered, as during the deep cold of a New England winter

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