Flesh and Blood So Cheap Comprehension Check

What does the following passage mainly reveal about the workers’ reaction to the fire (paragraph 6)?

Workers, shouting, crying, and gasping for air, slowly made their way downstairs. There were no lights in the stairway, so they had to grope their way in darkness. A girl fell; others fell on top of her, blocking the stairs until firefighters arrived moments later. Yet everyone who took the stairway from the eighth floor got out alive, exiting through the Washington Place doors. Those on the ninth floor were not so lucky.

• A. They hoped the company would give them a raise.

• B. They remained calm and quiet in the face of danger.

• C. They worked together to extinguish the fire.

• D. They panicked, causing a stampede which blocked the stairs.

Which of the following inferences about the elevator operators is best supported by the following passage (paragraph 4)?

Meanwhile, workers on the eighth-floor rang furiously for the two passenger elevators. Safety experts have always advised against using elevators in a fire. Heat can easily damage their machinery, leaving trapped passengers dangling in space, to burn or suffocate. Despite the danger, the operators made several trips, saving scores of workers before heat bent the elevators’ tracks and put them out of action.

• A. The elevator operators perished, or died, in the fire.

• B. The elevator operators refused to help the workers escape.

• C. The elevator operators were brave.

• D. The elevator operators saved all of the employees.

What is the most closely the meaning of the word doomed as it is used in this passage from the text (paragraph 9)?

With fire advancing from behind and flames rising before them, people knew they were doomed. Whatever they did meant certain death. By remaining in the room, they chose death by fire or suffocation. Jumping ninety-five feet to the ground meant death on the sidewalk.

• A. It means a very bad situation that cannot be avoided.

• B. It means the workers were very lucky people.

• C. It means the workers had to run away.

What mainly do the following lines from paragraph 14 reveal?

An hour later, Chief Croker made his inspection. He found that the Asch Building had no damage to its structure. Its walls were in good shape; so were the floors. It had passed the test. It was fireproof.

• A. There was nothing faulty about the building that led to the severe destruction of the Triangle Fire.

• B. The fire department was involved in a cover-up with the building owners to hide the true cause of the fire.

• C. Firefighters began to wonder if the Triangle Fire actually even happened.

• D. The inspection did not take place until weeks later when no one could know for sure what caused the Triangle Fire.

Which statement about the Triangle Fire victims is best supported by the excerpt?

• A. They were probably responsible for starting the fire.

• B. Many of the girls chose to jump from the windows.

• C. The victims were ignored by the media, because fires were common during this time.

• D. Many of them continued working even after the building was engulfed in flames.

Text Evidence to prove many girls chose to jump from the windows:

In paragraph 12 it says, "Officers, fearing their men would be ___________ by falling bodies, ordered the nets removed."

Which of these inferences is best supported by the text?

• A. The factory owners probably set the fire to collect the insurance money.

• B. The firefighters did not try very hard to rescue people, because so many of the victims were women.

• C. The owners of the factory made the workplace unsafe because they locked the doors, trapping the workers inside.

• D. The fire department was adequately prepared for a large-scale disaster, but by the time they arrived the fire had already been extinguished.

Text Evidence to support that the owners made the workplace unsafe:

In paragraph 7 it says, "...employers often locked doors to _______________ latecomers and keep out union organizers."

Which event happened first on the day of the fire according to the text?

• 146 employees are found dead.

• Workers jump out of the building and bounce off rescue nets.

• Hanging paper and fabric scraps catch on fire.

• Ninth-floor workers discover their staircase blocked.