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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. A look at the local free magazine reveals very little _________ Barbara can afford in the area where she is staying.

2. The workers have troubles coming up with two dollars to buy a new ___________ when one is left behind at the office.

3. What is the next place Barbara goes to in order to try to avoid drug testing and get more money?

4. Given that The Maids are paid _______, Barbara doesn't understand why they need to rush through their duties.

5. Which department is Barbara placed into when she goes back to Menards to find out about the job?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does the author decide to go to Maine for her next working assignment?

2. What are the titles that Wal-Mart wants its employees to think of themselves as?

3. What comes in the emergency food package that Barbara eventually gets from the Community Emergency Assistance Program?

4. What does Barbara do as the focus of her job at Wal-Mart, as it becomes clearer on the first shift?

5. What are the workers in Portland, Maine expected to do as the wages seem to be falling between $6 and $7 an hour?

6. What does Barbara decide about the entire hiring process after noticing she didn't even ask about salary at Menards?

7. What does Menards offers to Barbara eventually when they call up to hire her?

8. When Barbara goes back to Wal-Mart in order to fill out a new test, what happens when she gets a few wrong?

9. What does the prissy women at the first Maids job Barbara is on do for her baby?

10. What does the author admit to doing which is making her a little nervous about the drug test she needs to take?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

It seems that the odds are against those who are in minimum wage jobs. From the costs of housing to the way these workers are often not paid well, it seems the cycle of poverty may never end.

Part 1: Why do you think minimum wage workers can not get ahead in their lives?

Part 2: Do you think outside influences are the main reasons why people can not lift themselves from poverty? Why or why not?

Part 3: Do you think society willfully creates conditions in which minimum wage workers can not succeed? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

While at times it seems that coworkers band together to help each other out, at other times, they treat each other as though they were unaware of the other's existence.

Part 1: Why do you think coworkers band together at some points of a minimum wage job?

Part 2: Why do you think coworkers can also turn their backs on their coworkers so easily?

Part 3: Do you think the management tries to influence the bonds between coworkers? If so, why? If not, why not?

Essay Topic 3

The idea of poverty is one of the most complex issues this world seems to be unable and often unwilling to tackle.

Part 1: How do you define the idea of poverty? Can there be only one definition? Why or why not?

Part 2: Why do you think poverty is so hard for governments to manage?

Part 3: Why do you think people slide into poverty and poverty-conditions?

(see the answer keys)

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