Read the passage below and answer the following question. Which development of the Industrial Revolution was most responsible fo
r the conditions described in the passage? "Fog everywhere . . . fog down the river, where it rolls defiled among the tiers of shipping and the waterside pollutions of a great (and dirty) city . . . fog lying out on the yards and hovering in the rigging of great ships; fog drooping on the gunwales of barges and small boats. . . . Chance people on the bridges peeping over the parapets into a nether sky of fog, with fog all round them, as if they were up in a balloon and hanging in the misty clouds." Charles Dickens, Bleak House1 A. The expansion of workhouses for workers receiving public aid B. The growth of progressive movements to regulate industries C. The increase in the use of coal as a source of heat and energy D. The creation of a method for killing bacteria in drinking water
Answer: C. The increase in the use of coal as a source of heat and energy.
Charles Dickens was one of the most important writers of Victorian England, and his novels often depict the negative consequences of the Industrial Revolution. One such consequence was the increased presence of industrial pollution. In this excerpt, Dickens describes how fog could be seen everywhere in the "dirty city." This fog was due to the air pollution caused by coal, as this became the favourite source of heat and energy during this time period.
