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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why did Orwell believe the return trip through the tunnels was worse than the initial one?
(a) Because he was alone in the dark.
(b) Because he was terribly hungry.
(c) Because he was forced to move very quickly.
(d) Because he was going slightly uphill on the return.

2. At what point did Orwell leave the Brooker's boarding house?
(a) When all of his belongings were stolen.
(b) When his wallet was stolen.
(c) When he had enough of the other men sharing his room.
(d) When he found there was a full chamber pot under the breakfast table.

3. What were some of the most common conditions Orwell notes of housing in the industrial areas?
(a) No hot water, no electircity, no roof.
(b) Overcrowding, no roof, no dishes.
(c) Unopenable windows, bugs, and overcrowding.
(d) Bugs, no bedding, no stove.

4. How was the coal miner getter paid?
(a) By the ton extracted from the mine.
(b) By the coalcar load.
(c) By the week.
(d) By the hour.

5. How did Orwell come to understand the discrepancies in pay for miners?
(a) By working with the payroll departments.
(b) By listening to talk around the lunch table.
(c) By studing pay checks and bank accounts.
(d) By interviewing miners.

6. What point was Orwell making in his explanation of the coal miner's pay?
(a) They are actually well paid.
(b) They are paid more than the mayor of the town.
(c) They are actually paid very little.
(d) They are paid the same as any other laborer.

7. What was the only quality associated with hell that was not in the coal mine?
(a) Fire.
(b) Darkness.
(c) Noise.
(d) Foul air.

8. How did Orwell describe the meals at the Brooker's house?
(a) "Uniformly pitiful."
(b) "Abjectly woeful."
(c) "Uniformly disgusting."
(d) "Pitifully disgusting."

9. What was the most understandable cause of accidents in a mine?
(a) Gas explosions.
(b) Collapsing roofs.
(c) Exhaustion.
(d) Cancer.

10. What was offered a very few of the miners in the better built mines?
(a) A pithead bath.
(b) A hot meal.
(c) A check cashing facility.
(d) A quart of water.

11. Why does every miner have a blue scar on his nose and forehead?
(a) Every miner hits his nose and forehead sometimes.
(b) Coal dust enters the wound and the skin grows over it.
(c) Coal dust reacts with the nasal passages.
(d) The blue is a bruise.

12. What were some of the restrictions placed on residents of Corporation housing?
(a) No animals or pets, no laundry lines.
(b) No cars parked on the street, no pets larger than fifty pounds.
(c) No trash on the streets, no outdoor fires.
(d) No poultry or pigeons, no neighborhood pubs.

13. What did the fillers wear?
(a) Shorts, light tee shirts and knee pads.
(b) Thin drawers, clogs and knee pads.
(c) Long cotton pants and clogs.
(d) Shorts, light tee shirts and clogs.

14. To what man did Orwell compare the coal miner?
(a) To the machine driver.
(b) To the plowman.
(c) To the oil man.
(d) To the banker.

15. In what position must the fillers work?
(a) Sitting.
(b) Standing up.
(c) On their knees.
(d) Slouching over.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is a "dataller?"

2. In a year, how many minors are killed at work?

3. What is "buttons down the back?"

4. What did Orwell urge the reader to realize about the coal miner?

5. Who was Old Jack?

(see the answer keys)

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