Chapter IX: The Ponds Quiz — Walden Pond

by Henry David Thoreau

Comprehension Quiz: Chapter IX: The Ponds

How does Thoreau describe the dimensions of Walden Pond?

  • A quarter mile long, about thirty acres, surrounded by flat meadows
  • Half a mile long, about sixty-one and a half acres, with no visible inlet or outlet
  • One mile long, about one hundred acres, fed by a visible stream from the hills
  • Three quarters of a mile long, about forty-five acres, connected to Flint's Pond underground

What famous metaphor does Thoreau use to describe a lake's role in the landscape?

  • He calls it "the landscape's beating heart, pumping life through the surrounding hills"
  • He calls it "earth's eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature"
  • He calls it "nature's open book, in which the reader finds all wisdom written"
  • He calls it "the landscape's crown jewel, set in a ring of emerald forest"

What does Thoreau mean when he says he "caught two fishes as it were with one hook"?

  • He literally caught two fish on a single hook during an unusually productive night
  • He caught both physical fish from the water and spiritual insight from his cosmic thoughts simultaneously
  • He caught a fish and a turtle at the same time while fishing from his boat
  • He discovered two new species of fish that no one had previously identified in the pond

Why does Thoreau express fury about the naming of Flint's Pond?

  • Because the name Flint sounds harsh and does not match the pond's gentle beauty
  • Because the farmer Flint never loved or appreciated the pond and saw nature only as a source of profit
  • Because Flint's Pond was originally a Native American name that the farmer deliberately changed
  • Because Flint stole the pond from its rightful owner through a fraudulent land deal

What color does Thoreau say Walden Pond's water appears when held up in a single glass?

  • A faint green tint, like a large plate of glass from its "body"
  • Colorless, like an equal quantity of air, despite appearing blue or green in the pond
  • A deep cerulean blue that is more vivid than the sky itself above
  • A yellowish tint similar to the sand visible near the shallow shore

What does Thoreau call the "devilish Iron Horse" that has damaged Walden's surroundings?

  • The logging industry that has clear-cut the forests around the pond
  • The railroad locomotive, which he compares to a Trojan horse brought by mercenary Greeks
  • A mechanical water pump that the villagers use to drain the pond's water
  • An industrial ice-cutting machine that scrapes the surface of the pond each winter

How does Thoreau describe White Pond in relation to Walden?

  • As a larger and more impressive body of water that surpasses Walden in purity
  • As a lesser twin of Walden, sharing its stony shore and water of the same hue
  • As the opposite of Walden, being shallow, muddy, and surrounded by farmland
  • As a completely separate kind of pond with no resemblance to Walden at all

What does Thoreau say about the shore of Walden Pond?

  • It is composed of soft mud and abundant water lilies growing in the shallows
  • It is a belt of smooth rounded white stones, so steep that a single leap carries you into deep water
  • It is lined with thick sand beaches that extend gradually into shallow warm water
  • It is covered in fallen trees and dense brush that make access difficult

Which of the following events actually occurs in Chapter IX?

  • Thoreau drops his axe through a hole in the ice and retrieves it using a birch pole with a slip-noose
  • Thoreau swims across the entire length of Walden Pond to measure its distance
  • Thoreau discovers a previously unknown species of fish in Walden Pond
  • Thoreau meets Ralph Waldo Emerson walking along the shore of the pond

Which of the following does Thoreau NOT describe in Chapter IX?

  • Playing the flute from his boat while perch hover around him in the evening
  • Observing myriads of small perch in November that make the surface appear to ripple
  • Building a small cabin on the shore of White Pond to serve as a second retreat
  • Throwing burning brands into the pond at night where they were quenched with a loud hissing

What does "pellucid" mean as used in: "still its water is green and pellucid as ever"?

  • Warm and inviting, suggesting comfort and welcome
  • Translucently clear, allowing light to pass through
  • Stagnant and unmoving, suggesting stillness and calm
  • Deeply colored, absorbing light rather than reflecting it

What does "vitreous" mean in: "It is a vitreous greenish blue, as I remember it"?

  • Extremely deep, suggesting unfathomable depth
  • Resembling glass in appearance or transparency
  • Shimmering with reflected light from the sky above
  • Having the quality of precious gems or minerals

What does "profaned" mean in: "Since the wood-cutters, and the railroad, and I myself have profaned Walden"?

  • Explored thoroughly and documented in careful scientific detail
  • Treated with irreverence something regarded as sacred or worthy of respect
  • Accidentally discovered while searching for something entirely different
  • Improved and made more accessible for the general public to enjoy

What does Thoreau conclude about Walden Pond at the end of the chapter, despite all the changes around it?

  • The pond has been permanently damaged by the railroad and logging and will never recover
  • The pond itself is unchanged and perennially young; all the change is in him, not in the water
  • The pond is slowly shrinking and will eventually disappear within a few generations
  • The pond has actually improved because the removal of trees allows more sunlight to reach it

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