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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What did miners tell Orwell about why they ate less than he did at a meal?
(a) They are not allowed to use a bathroom.
(b) Food is available in the mine if they need something.
(c) They have permanently lost their appetites.
(d) They cannot work all day on a full stomach.

2. What was one problem faced by the tenant moving from slum housing into new housing?
(a) The lack of medical care.
(b) The higher expense.
(c) The outdoor plumbing.
(d) The noise level.

3. Upon what did Orwell believe our civilization is based?
(a) Coal.
(b) Law.
(c) Money.
(d) Marriage.

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What did Orwell learn had happened to Wigan Pier?

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

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

4. What author accused miners of gluttony?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. Why were the fillers an important part of the coal mining business? What were their jobs?

2. How did Orwell come to write "The Road to Wigan Pier?" When did he write the book? For whom? What were the three parts of the book when it was originally published?

3. What were the three terms Orwell used to describe the construction of the substandard housing in Wigan and Sheffield? How are they each affected by the lavatories available to them?

4. How did a miner clean up upon returning home? Why was cleaning up after work such a difficult task?

5. Why did Orwell leave the Brookers? Where did he go? How did he respond to his train trip leaving town?

6. There were three shift in the mines Orwell discussed. What happened in each of the three shifts?

7. Why did Orwell believe that our civilization is founded on coal? How did he relate this belief to the coal miner?

8. Why did Orwell make the comparison between the miner's wages and the amount of coal and money the coal mines produce? What did he want the reader to understand?

9. What were some of the common conditions in the houses Orwell studied for his book?

10. What were the newer government (Corporation) houses like? What were the positive and negative aspects of the housing?

(see the answer keys)

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