View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is "buttons down the back?"
(a) A death story told to novices just entering the mines.
(b) The type of shirt worn to keep dust from getting into clothing.
(c) Permanent scabs on vertebrae from scraping the spine on beams.
(d) A joke miners play on each other.

2. What is a "dataller?"
(a) A miner who digs the coal.
(b) A miner who plants explosives.
(c) A miner who attends to the roof of the mine.
(d) The superviser in the mine shaft.

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

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

5. What did Orwell say about the Corporation housing as a whole?
(a) "Demeaning and horrific."
(b) "Adequate and personalized."
(c) "Ruthless and soulless."
(d) "Comfortable and personal."

6. Who were the fillers?
(a) The foremen.
(b) The men digging coal from the ground.
(c) The men moving coal on the elevators.
(d) The men shoveling coal onto the conveyer belt.

7. Which towns did Orwell note for their approach to tearing down slum housing and rebuilding?
(a) Liverpool and Manchester.
(b) Liverpool and Sheffield.
(c) Liverpool and Yorkshire.
(d) Liverpool and London.

8. How many tons of coal were moved on the conveyor belt every minute?
(a) One ton.
(b) Hundreds of pounds.
(c) Millions of pounds.
(d) Several tons.

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

10. In what positions did Orwell find himself moving through the tunnels in the coal mine?
(a) Standing, crawling and moving on his belly.
(b) Bent over, squatting and running.
(c) Bent over, crawling and twisting.
(d) Bent over, squatting and crawling.

11. What is one superstition miner sometimes hold to?
(a) It is bad luck to carry a photograph of one's children into the mines.
(b) It is bad luck to wear red into the mines.
(c) It is bad luck to kiss a woman goodbye before going into the mines.
(d) It is bad luck to see a woman before going to work in the morning shift.

12. What were "cream crackers?"
(a) Biscuits.
(b) Fried bread.
(c) Oreos.
(d) Potato chips.

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

14. How did Orwell describe Mrs. Brooker?
(a) An anxious faced, obese invalid.
(b) A jolly, industrious woman.
(c) A beautiful, tall seductress.
(d) An overweight, jolly woman.

15. What creature did Orwell see a surprising abundance of in the coal mine?
(a) Rats.
(b) Moles.
(c) Mice.
(d) Bats.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does "one up, one down" mean?

2. How did Orwell come to understand the discrepancies in pay for miners?

3. What was one "perk" given to miners that was actually off-set by transportation costs?

4. What were newspaper canvassers?

5. How did Orwell describe the meals at the Brooker's house?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 601 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample