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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 3.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. To what did Orwell compare the sound of the conveyor belt in the mine?
(a) Thunder.
(b) A machine gun.
(c) A loud hum.
(d) An echo.

3. When they had something to eat, what did the fillers consume?
(a) A hunk of bread and drippings, 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 large pan of hot cereal and a bottle of cold tea.

4. What did Old Jack say every night when he went to bed?
(a) "Till the morrow!"
(b) "Good night, boys!"
(c) "Sleep warm, then."
(d) "Tomorrow's comin'."

5. Who did most of the cooking and laundry at the Brooker house?
(a) Mr. Brooker's sister.
(b) Mrs. Brooker's daughter-in-law and future daughter-in-law.
(c) Mrs. Brooker's son and his wife and kids.
(d) A neighbor hired by Mrs. Brooker.

Short Answer Questions

1. To what man did Orwell compare the coal miner?

2. What did miners tell Orwell about why they ate less than he did at a meal?

3. What is one superstition miner sometimes hold to?

4. At what time of year does the coal industry slack off?

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

(see the answer key)

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