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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. 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 kiss a woman goodbye before going into the mines.
(c) It is bad luck to wear red into the mines.
(d) It is bad luck to see a woman before going to work in the morning shift.

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

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

5. 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.

6. What was one common characteristic of all of the houses Orwell saw in industrial towns?
(a) None of them were brick.
(b) None of them were less than two bedrooms.
(c) None of them had running hot water.
(d) None of them were high rent.

7. How did one member of the press see Orwell's presence in Wigan?
(a) Orwell was a fascist.
(b) Orwell was there to vilify humanity.
(c) Orwell was there to snoop into poor people's lives.
(d) Orwell did not understand the suffering of the poor.

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

9. Where was Orwell's bed in his room at the Brooker's house?
(a) On the east wall.
(b) In the center of the room.
(c) Against a dresser.
(d) In the right hand corner nearest the door.

10. When they had something to eat, what did the fillers consume?
(a) A large pan of hot cereal and a bottle of cold tea.
(b) A hunk of meat and gravy, and a bottle of cold tea.
(c) A large sandwich and pickles, and a bottle of cold tea.
(d) A hunk of bread and drippings, and a bottle of cold tea.

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

12. What is the cause of the great majority of accidents in the mine?
(a) Gob fires.
(b) Gas explosions.
(c) Fall of a roof.
(d) Human error.

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

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What kind of shop was attached to the Brooker's boarding house?

2. What creature did Orwell see a surprising abundance of in the coal mine?

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

4. In what positions did Orwell find himself moving through the tunnels in the coal mine?

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

(see the answer keys)

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