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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How does Orwell feel about people bonding through sports?
(a) He thinks there are better ways to bond.
(b) He doesn't believe it is possible.
(c) He doesn't offer an opinion.
(d) He thinks it is the best way to bond.

2. What does Orwell say about children's books, in Chapter 18?
(a) They are too complicated for most children.
(b) They have adult themes that are too advanced for children.
(c) They are ineffective at teaching values and morals.
(d) They give one a "false map" of the world.

3. What term does Orwell use to describe modern sports?
(a) "Fad."
(b) "Hobby."
(c) "Religion."
(d) "Cult."

4. How does Orwell feel about winning by cheating?
(a) It's okay, if the cheating team is so far behind that winning one game won't affect the overall outcome.
(b) It is a win without honor or meaning.
(c) It's okay, as long as the other team is also cheating.
(d) A win is a win, regardless of how it is earned.

5. Orwell refers to what form of medieval art to back up his claims about outdoor workers and nature?
(a) Stories.
(b) Sculpture.
(c) Paintings.
(d) Ballads.

6. What does "Helen's Babies" say about America, according to Orwell?
(a) It characterizes America much more tamely than older literature.
(b) It portrays America inaccurately.
(c) It portrays Americans as immature and selfish.
(d) It is a characterization of only one class in American society.

7. What is the first poem Orwell mentions in Chapter 17?
(a) "Hey Diddle Diddle".
(b) "The Owl and the Pussycat".
(c) "Solomon Grundy".
(d) "Humpty Dumpty".

8. How much did it cost to plant the garden Orwell describes in Chapter 13?
(a) Twelve and sixpence.
(b) Three shillings.
(c) Two pounds.
(d) Six and sixpence.

9. What does Orwell refer to as the era of great murder mystery literature?
(a) "Elizabethan period."
(b) "Renaissance."
(c) "Golden Age."
(d) "Dark Ages."

10. What does Orwell compare athletes to?
(a) Chess pieces.
(b) Soldiers.
(c) Machines.
(d) Automobiles.

11. Why does Orwell claim that his readers think farmers and fishermen wouldn't be interested in reading his essays about nature?
(a) Most of them are uneducated, and illiterate.
(b) Orwell isn't good at writing about nature.
(c) They are more interested in politics than people who live in urban areas.
(d) They work too closely with it, so they are not interested in reading about it.

12. What is the main characteristic of the poems, written by the poet mentioned in Chapter 17?
(a) They have an ABAB rhyme scheme.
(b) The first and last lines share the same rhyme.
(c) They are popular with children.
(d) They are obscene.

13. Orwell says, in Chapter 12, that he has occasionally found what in summer?
(a) A den of fox kits.
(b) A patch of wheat.
(c) A salamander, under a log.
(d) A toad that never woke up from hibernation.

14. What nonsense poet is named in Chapter 17?
(a) Ogden Nash.
(b) Christopher Isherwood.
(c) Mervyn Peake
(d) Edward Lear.

15. What are the benefits of the poems in Chapter 17?
(a) They are funny, or fun to read.
(b) They are easy to remember.
(c) They are short.
(d) They are written by great poets.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to Orwell, what ideal is at stake in international sports competitions?

2. According to Orwell, what did older American literature have, that the newer doesn't?

3. What event does Orwell cite as evidence for his argument about sports?

4. Orwell compares the price of a book to the price of what other luxury?

5. What relationship does Orwell establish between social justice and nature?

(see the answer keys)

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