The women had primary responsibility for the fields. They had to exercise considerable skill to produce the desired results, for their northern location meant fleeting growing seasons. Winter often lingered; autumn could be ushered in by severe frost. For good measure, du
ring the spring and summer, drought, heat, hail, grasshoppers, and other frustrations might await the wary grower.
Under such conditions, Mandan women had to grow maize capable of weathering adversity. They began as early as it appeared feasible to do so in the spring. clearing the land, using fire to clear stubble from the fields and then planting. From this point until the first green corn could be harvested, the crop required labor and vigilance.
Harvesting proceeded in two stages. In August the Mandans picked a smaller amount of the crop before it had matured fully. This green corn was boiled, dried, and shelled, with some of the maize slated for immediate consumption and the rest stored in animal-skin bags. Later in the fall, the people picked corn. They saved the best of the harvest for seeds or for trade, with the remainder eaten right away or stored for later use in underground reserves. With appropriate banking of the extra food, the Mandans protected themselves against the disaster of crop failure and accompanying hunger.
The women planted another staple, squash, about the first of June, and harvested it near the time of the green corn harvest. After they picked it, they sliced it, dried it, and strung the slices before they stored them. Once again, they saved the seed from the best of the year’s crop. The Mandans also grew sunflowers and tobacco; the latter was the particular task of the old men.
1. The Mandans built their houses close together in order to
(A) guard their supplies of food
(B) protect themselves against the weather
(C) allow more room for growing corn
(D) share farming implements
2. The word "enabled" in line 4 is closest in meaning to
(A)covered
(B) reminded
(C)helped
(D)isolated
3.The word "considerable" in line 8 is closest in meaning to
(A) planning
(B) much
(C) physical
(D) flew
4.Why does the author believe that the Mandans were skilled farmers?
(A) They developed effective fertilizers.
(B) They developed new varieties of corn.
(C) They could grow crops in most types of soil.
(D) They could grow crops despite adverse weather.
5. Tile word "consumption" in line 18 is closest in meaning to
(A) decay
(B) planting
(C) eating
(D) conversion
6. Which of the following processes does the author imply was done by both men and women?
(A) Clearing fields
(B) Planting corn
(C) Harvesting corn
D) harvesting squash.
7. The word "disaster" in line 22 is closest in meaning to
(A)control
(B)catastrophe
(C)avoidance
(D)history
8. According to the passage, the Mandans preserved their food by
(A)smoking
(B)drying
(C)freezing.
(D)salting
9. The word "it" in line 25 refers to
(A)June
(B)corn
(C)time
(D)squash
10. Which of the following crops was cultivated primarily by men |
