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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who did Orwell believe was doing the best work for the unemployed in the thirties?
(a) The National Center for Employment Benefits.
(b) The National Communist Party.
(c) The National Employment Readiness Centers.
(d) The National Unemployed Workers' Union.

2. What was one way the middle class worked to abolish class distinctions?
(a) Give a coal miner a new home.
(b) Attend summer schools with the proletariats.
(c) Walk to the coal mines together.
(d) Stand side by side in protest rallies.

3. In order to calculate the actual number of people living on unemployment in England, what would one need to do?
(a) Multiply the official figures by over three.
(b) Multiply the official figure by 2.5.
(c) Divide the figure by more than five.
(d) Multiply the official figure by 4.5.

4. What did Socialism mean to the average, ordinary working man in England?
(a) Better wages, better working conditions, and positive work environments.
(b) Better wages, medical insurance, and no bosses.
(c) Better wages, longer vacations, and no bosses.
(d) Better wages, shorter hours, and no one bossing you around.

5. In 1918, what was the general feeling throughout England?
(a) One of conservatism due to the war.
(b) One of revolutionary thought due to the war.
(c) One of uncertainty due to the war.
(d) One of understanding due to the war.

6. What did Orwell find was the basis of the diet for families of the unemployed?
(a) White bread, butter, roast beef, sugared tea and carrots.
(b) White bread, margerine, corned beef, sugared tea and potatoes.
(c) White bread, butter, chipped beef, sugared tea and carrots.
(d) White bread, butter, tinny beef, sugared tea and potatoes.

7. Where did Orwell first go to sleep with the beggars and criminals of the working class?
(a) Wigan and Sheffield.
(b) London and Sheffield.
(c) Orangehouse and Greychapel.
(d) Limehouse and Whitechapel.

8. Under the capitalist system, who did Orwell say must live on the edge of starvation so that England can live in comfort?
(a) A million Burmese.
(b) Thousands of Africans.
(c) Ten thousand coal miners.
(d) One hundred million Indians.

9. Why were the industrial towns in England so ugly and noxious?
(a) The people were so poor they threw trash in the streets and did not paint their houses.
(b) The mayors did not enforce local laws of trash and smoke abatement.
(c) The government had given up helping this area of the country to deal with their filth.
(d) The modern methods of steel construction and smoke abatement were unknown.

10. Who was the typical Socialist of the late 1930's in England?
(a) A woman.
(b) A man.
(c) A member of the middle class.
(d) A member of the lower class.

11. What were the "Clothing Clubs?"
(a) Clubs in industrial towns in which unemployed men could send their wives for clothes.
(b) Clubs in industrial towns in which unemployed men could trade old clothing for new.
(c) Clubs in industrial towns in which unemployed men could buy new clothes.
(d) Clubs in industrial towns in which unemployed men were given loans for clothing.

12. What did Orwell believe was the deeper implications of Socialism?
(a) Socialism stands for justice and common decency.
(b) Socialism stands for better housing for the working poor.
(c) Socialism stands for better wages and better working conditions.
(d) Socialism stands for democracy and common goals.

13. What did Orwell find hopeful about the unemployed men he met?
(a) They continued to exerecise in case work should come available in the mines.
(b) They relied on each other for food and money.
(c) They had not gone to pieces spiritually.
(d) They could talk about their experiences and learn from them.

14. When asked who the top ten greatest men living in 1920, who was most often named in Orwell's school class?
(a) Hardy.
(b) Trotsky.
(c) Lenin.
(d) Lennon.

15. What common feeling was shared by all of the different factions of the middle class in England?
(a) Understanding.
(b) Hatred.
(c) Confusion.
(d) Kindness.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did Orwell believe every unemployed man should be given if he wanted it?

2. Why did Orwell say Socialism had not taken hold in England despite its common-sense doctrine?

3. Who was John Galsworthy?

4. What was the most obvious sign of malnourishment in the families of the unemployed men?

5. What did Orwell say was the primary preoccupation of a single unemployed man in winter?

(see the answer keys)

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