Chapter XVI: The Pond in Winter Quiz — Walden Pond

What is the greatest depth Thoreau measures at Walden Pond?

• 52 feet
• 78 feet
• 102 feet
• 150 feet

What geometric discovery does Thoreau make about the pond's deepest point?

• It lies at the exact center of the pond
• The line of greatest length intersects the line of greatest breadth at the point of greatest depth
• The deepest point is always closest to the northern shore
• The deepest point shifts with the seasons

What does Thoreau compare the pickerel of Walden to?

• Common trout and bass
• Flowers, precious stones, and pearls
• Birds of paradise
• Tropical reef fish

How much ice was estimated to be in the pile stacked by the ice-cutters?

• One thousand tons
• Five thousand tons
• Ten thousand tons
• Twenty thousand tons

What happens to most of the ice harvested from Walden?

• It is shipped to India as planned
• It is sold to local businesses in Concord
• It never reaches market and melts back into the pond
• It is donated to hospitals in Boston

What ancient text does Thoreau read in the mornings?

• The Iliad
• The Bhagavad Gita
• The Tao Te Ching
• The Book of the Dead

What popular myth about Walden Pond does Thoreau debunk?

• That the pond is fed by underground springs
• That the pond is bottomless
• That the pond freezes solid every winter
• That the pond water has healing powers

Who are the workers that harvest ice from Walden?

• Local Concord farmers
• A hundred Irish laborers with Yankee overseers
• Students from Harvard College
• Thoreau and his neighbors

Thoreau discovers an underground outlet through which Walden Pond drains into a neighboring meadow.

Thoreau successfully predicts the deepest point of White Pond using his geometric rule from surveying Walden.

What does "cynosure" mean as used in: "it would be the cynosure of all eyes there"?

• A source of fear
• A center of attention or admiration
• A rare specimen
• A beautiful illusion

What does "vitiated" mean as used in: "our result is vitiated... by our ignorance of essential elements"?

• Strengthened
• Spoiled or impaired
• Validated
• Simplified

What does "estivate" mean as used in: "as if he had a design to estivate with us"?

• To celebrate a festival
• To spend the summer in dormancy
• To build a permanent residence
• To estimate the value of something