Read the first paragraph of “Economy” from Walden . When I wrote the following pages, or rather the bulk of them, I lived alone, in the woods, a mile from any neighbor, in a house which I had built myself, on the shore of Walden Pond, in Concord, Massachusetts, and earned my living by the labor of my hands only. I lived there two years and two months. At present I am a sojourner in civilized life again. Which best describes how this paragraph relates to the rest of “Economy”?
Answer
A
It compares and contrasts the author’s beliefs about nature with civilized society’s views of nature.
B
It provides context for the rest of the excerpt by explaining when and where the author wrote it.
C
It compares and contrasts civilized life with the author’s solitary time in the woods.
D
It provides context for the rest of the excerpt by noting that the author no longer agrees with what he wrote.
Explanation
The paragraph tells readers where Thoreau lived while writing most of the pages: alone in a house he built by Walden Pond, where he supported himself by manual labor. It also says how long he lived there and that he later returned to civilized life. This background sets the context for the rest of “Economy”; it does not say that he changed his beliefs about what he wrote.
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