Shooting an Elephant Test | Mid-Book Test - Easy

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Multiple Choice Questions

1. What creature intervenes as the prisoner is being led to his execution?
(a) A stray dog.
(b) A scorpion.
(c) A stray cat.
(d) An elephant.

2. How does Orwell feel about scientific words and foreign phrases?
(a) They should be used whenever possible, to elevate writing.
(b) They are unnecessary, and should be replaced with common language.
(c) They can be used, but only when writing for a certain audience.
(d) They should only be used in certain types of literature.

3. What does the creature do as the prisoner is being led to his execution?
(a) Rampages through the crowd of spectators.
(b) Stings the attending guard.
(c) Jumps up and tries to lick the prisoner's face.
(d) Bites the executioner.

4. Tolstoy wrote a biting criticism of what playwright's work?
(a) Molière.
(b) Aeschylus.
(c) Marlowe
(d) Shakespeare.

5. What does Burnham write about the atrocities Stalin committed?
(a) The things he did were so outrageous that the rest of the world was inclined to believe his reasons for doing so.
(b) The world wasn't aware of anything Stalin did until after he died.
(c) The world knew Stalin was crazy, but couldn't do anything to stop him.
(d) The world believed Stalin because he gave just enough evidence to back up his claims.

6. Overall, how does Orwell feel about "Gulliver's Travels"?
(a) He likes the books, and has reread them many times.
(b) He understands, and sympathizes with, Swift's message, but thinks the books are poorly executed.
(c) He feels that the books have an important message, but are poorly executed.
(d) He is bored by them, and doesn't understand people's fascination with the story.

7. According to Burnham, who governs the manners and morals of a given era?
(a) Those who are in power.
(b) The aristocracy.
(c) The general public.
(d) Religious figures.

8. What does Burnham say about the Nazis?
(a) They were well intended, but misguided.
(b) They were good soldiers, with corrupt leadership.
(c) They may have been monsters in a different era, but in this one, they were fine.
(d) They were monsters.

9. Why does Orwell dislike words such as "constitute" and "phenomenon"?
(a) He feels that they are used to "dress up" concepts that could be expressed in plainer terms.
(b) They are used intentionally to elevate writing beyond the capability of the ordinary reader.
(c) They are unnecessarily long.
(d) They consolidate, into one word, what should be expressed with a phrase.

10. According to Burnham, what place do workers occupy in the new socialist structure?
(a) They are near the top of the pyramid.
(b) They are semi-slaves, who are at the bottom of the pyramid.
(c) Burnham does not discuss the socialist position of workers, only managers.
(d) They are somewhere in the middle of the pyramid.

11. What is the symbol of Gulliver's aging?
(a) His arthritic hands.
(b) His hair, which is turning grey.
(c) His cane.
(d) His spectacles.

12. How much does Orwell think the managerial revolution, which Burnham writes about, has influenced the United States?
(a) Not at all.
(b) A lot.
(c) Very little.
(d) Some.

13. The narrator is a citizen of what country?
(a) Britain.
(b) Burma.
(c) India.
(d) Australia.

14. How does Orwell describe Gandhi's political solutions?
(a) "Progressive."
(b) "Medievalist."
(c) "Backwards."
(d) "Godly."

15. According to Orwell, how did Swift offend Queen Anne?
(a) By writing a pamphlet that criticized dissenters from the church.
(b) By greeting her inappropriately when he met her.
(c) By writing a satirical piece that made fun of the English government.
(d) By criticizing a law passed by Parliament.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to Burnham, what is the most important factor for class mobility, in the society he envisions?

2. How did Gandhi feel about Satyagraha?

3. Orwell worries that liberty cannot exist without what?

4. What do the doctors in the narrator's hospital do?

5. The third speaker, in Chapter 8, attacked what?

(see the answer keys)

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