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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. For what did the Brookers purchase insurance policies?
(a) They insured their home and shop.
(b) They insured each other.
(c) They insured the lives of both old age pensioners.
(d) They insured their children.

2. What did each of the permanent lodgers get for their ten shillings a week rent?
(a) A couch in a living area, a shared bath, and one meal a day.
(b) A bedroom, a shared bath, and two meals a day.
(c) An attic room, a toilet, and one meal a day.
(d) A bed in the attic and meals that were mostly bread and butter.

3. What is "traveling?"
(a) Going up and down in the elevator.
(b) The unpaid time it takes to crawl through the tunnels to the job site.
(c) Getting to and from the mine from the miner's home.
(d) The unpaid time it takes to get from the job site to the eating area.

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

5. How does a miner bathe after dinner?
(a) In a tub outside in the yard.
(b) In a hot bath tub.
(c) In an outdoor shower.
(d) With a basin of water and a washcloth.

6. What is a "gob fire?"
(a) A spontaneous heat problem.
(b) A cigarette fire.
(c) A coal fire.
(d) A spontaneously generating fire.

7. 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.

8. What was done with the unusable shale inside of the mines?
(a) It was taken away by large trucks and brought to lakes and rivers.
(b) It was brought to the surface and dumped into "dirt-heaps."
(c) It was left in the mine in empty mine shafts.
(d) It was added to the coal and processed.

9. Who were the only permanent lodgers at the Brookers?
(a) Mr. Reilly and Mr. Orwell.
(b) Mr. Reilly and Mr. Simons.
(c) Mr. Reilly and the Irish miner with one hand.
(d) Mr. Reilly and a man named Joe.

10. In one town, what was built instead of public housing the town desperately needed?
(a) A library.
(b) A museum.
(c) A recreational area.
(d) A town hall.

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

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

13. Who was Emmie?
(a) Orwell's sister.
(b) The fiance of a son living in London.
(c) The maid hired to come in weekly.
(d) The neighbor who complained bitterly about the Brookers.

14. At what time of year does the coal industry slack off?
(a) Summer.
(b) Winter.
(c) Fall.
(d) Spring.

15. What author accused miners of gluttony?
(a) Rev. B.W. Smith.
(b) Rev. W.D. Acres.
(c) Rev. W. S. Bellows.
(d) Rev. W. R. Inge.

Short Answer Questions

1. What was the average size of one of the dwellings?

2. What did Mr. Brooker do while grumbling that it was "women's work?"

3. What was the most understandable cause of accidents in a mine?

4. What were newspaper canvassers?

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

(see the answer keys)

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