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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is in the prisoner's cell?
(a) A cot and toilet.
(b) A plank bed and water pot.
(c) Nothing.
(d) A bedroll.

2. According to Orwell, what word best describes Tolstoy's criticisms?
(a) Inconsistent.
(b) Prejudiced.
(c) Indirect.
(d) Obsolete.

3. What crucial element of Shakespeare's works does Tolstoy fail to recognize, according to Orwell?
(a) The social commentary in Shakespeare's works.
(b) Shakespeare's lack of education.
(c) Shakespeare's status as a poet.
(d) The fact that Shakespeare deliberately incorporated flaws into his work.

4. The third speaker, in Chapter 8, attacked what?
(a) Laws that challenged obscenity in literary products.
(b) The government's choice to regulate news media.
(c) The inability of the government to police all media successfully.
(d) The unnecessarily severe punishments for violating censorship laws.

5. According to Orwell, how did Swift offend Queen Anne?
(a) By greeting her inappropriately when he met her.
(b) By writing a pamphlet that criticized dissenters from the church.
(c) By writing a satirical piece that made fun of the English government.
(d) By criticizing a law passed by Parliament.

6. What does Burnham say about the Nazis?
(a) They may have been monsters in a different era, but in this one, they were fine.
(b) They were well intended, but misguided.
(c) They were monsters.
(d) They were good soldiers, with corrupt leadership.

7. According to Orwell, what were Smith's religious beliefs?
(a) He was not a religious man.
(b) Swift subscribed to his own form of spirituality.
(c) Swift was a firm believer in the necessity of organized religion.
(d) Swift believed in a higher power, but rejected organized religions.

8. How is the prisoner behaving, as he is marching to his death?
(a) He tries to attack his guards and escape.
(b) He walks with dignity.
(c) He quietly attempts to bribe the guard.
(d) He begs for mercy.

9. According to Orwell, what is the primary purpose of language?
(a) Straightforward communication.
(b) Beauty.
(c) Evoking feeling.
(d) Expanding knowledge.

10. Overall, how does Orwell feel about "Gulliver's Travels"?
(a) He likes the books, and has reread them many times.
(b) He is bored by them, and doesn't understand people's fascination with the story.
(c) He feels that the books have an important message, but are poorly executed.
(d) He understands, and sympathizes with, Swift's message, but thinks the books are poorly executed.

11. What is the narrator's profession?
(a) Firefighter.
(b) Judge.
(c) Police officer.
(d) Doctor.

12. The narrator is a citizen of what country?
(a) India.
(b) Burma.
(c) Australia.
(d) Britain.

13. What is the symbol of Gulliver's aging?
(a) His spectacles.
(b) His cane.
(c) His arthritic hands.
(d) His hair, which is turning grey.

14. What sort of bath does the hospital staff give the narrator?
(a) They swab his body with warm damp towels.
(b) They put him in a lukewarm bath.
(c) They put him in five inches of warm water.
(d) They hand him a bucket of cold water and a washcloth for him to bathe with.

15. According to Orwell, what is the basis for Burnham's political predictions?
(a) Historical data.
(b) Current political trends.
(c) Psychic visions.
(d) Statistical analysis.

Short Answer Questions

1. How did the narrator leave the hospital?

2. What does the prisoner begin to chant as he walks?

3. What is the subject of Gulliver's ranting in the second book of "Gulliver's Travels"?

4. Where is the narrator working?

5. Which play did Tolstoy criticize most harshly?

(see the answer keys)

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