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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How did the Brookers view the two old age pensioners that lived in their house?
(a) They did not think of them at all as long as they paid their rent.
(b) They thought of them as a danger because they smoked in bed.
(c) They thought of them as two old, quiet men bothering no one.
(d) They thought of them as dreadful parasites living on their charity.

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

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

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

5. Who was Mr. Reilly?
(a) One of Orwell's colleagues from college.
(b) One of Orwell's roommate who was war veteran.
(c) One of Orwell's friends in London.
(d) One of Orwell's roommates who was a mechanic at the mine.

6. What was offered a very few of the miners in the better built mines?
(a) A hot meal.
(b) A check cashing facility.
(c) A pithead bath.
(d) A quart of water.

7. How did D. H. Lawrence come to Orwell's mind as he rode the train?
(a) He looked at a beautiful girl.
(b) He looked out over snow-covered hills.
(c) He met a passenger whose name was Lawrence.
(d) He was reading a book of poetry.

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

9. What other types of expenses were taken from the miner's pay?
(a) Insurance, uniform rental, hospital fees.
(b) Insurance, lamp rental, union fees.
(c) Uniform rental, tools, union fees.
(d) Hospital fees, tools, uniform rental.

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

11. What was the major difference between a mile above ground and a mile in the pit bottom?
(a) You were not able to hear anything in the pit bottom.
(b) You could not stand upright in the pit bottom.
(c) You could not return the same way.
(d) You could not measure distance in the pit bottom.

12. In a year, how many minors are killed at work?
(a) One in ten thousand.
(b) One in one hundred.
(c) One in twenty.
(d) One in nine hundred.

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

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

15. Who was Old Jack?
(a) An ex-miner, 80 years old, whose left hand had been severed in a mining accident.
(b) An ex-miner, 78 years old, who worked for over fifty years in the coal pits.
(c) An ex-soldier, 75 years old, whose legs were both amputated after a battle.
(d) An ex-shopkeeper, around 80, who retired and sold his shop.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who was Emmie?

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

3. How far under the ground was Orwell when he reached the bottom of the mine?

4. How long were the fillers on the job during their shifts?

5. How did Orwell say he was received by the people he spoke with about their housing?

(see the answer keys)

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