After Apple-Picking

1. What chiefly preoccupies the farmer’s mind as he tries to sleep?

A) He worries that he will not get his apple crop harvested before winter.

B) He wonders if he is too old to be harvesting apples.

C) He assesses both his day’s work and a lifetime spent apple harvesting.

D) He cannot shake the fear that he will die in his sleep.

2. Why is it important that the apples be “cherish[ed] in hand, lift[ed] down, and not let fall” (Line 31)?

A) The farmer knows that this is his last harvest.

B) The apples that fall cannot be sold to eat and become cider.

C) The farmer is afraid too many apples have already been spoiled.

D) The apples symbolize the farmer’s children.

3. What did the farmer see in the “pane of glass” (Line 10)?

A) Hoary grass

B) His reflection

C) Apples

D) A vision

4. What causes the speaker’s “instep arch” to ache (Line 21)?

A) The rung of a ladder

B) Tree branches

C) Stepping on apples

D) Bee stings