The Voice MCQs

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Author: Nasir Iqbal | Assistant Professor of English Literature


Updated on: October 23, 2025
Estimated Reading Time: 11 min

Robert Browning MCQs

1. According to the text, the voice of the wicked man rose up in the elaborate pride of what?

A. art and music
B. art and evil
C. fame and glory
D. wealth and power

B. art and evil
The voice rose up in the elaborate pride of art and evil, asserting his purpose.

2. What was the first sign of the impending disaster mentioned in the text?

A. The floor cracking loudly
B. A shout from Lewis
C. A moan from the sloping timber and slates beginning to skate down
D. The sound of brick and dust tearing down

C. A moan from the sloping timber and slates beginning to skate down
This was the immediate sign of the landslide that was about to occur.

3. Who shouted, “Get out. It’s going,”?

A. Lewis
B. Morgan
C. The clergyman
D. The warden

D. The warden
The warden’s shout served as the warning before the imminent collapse.

4. What caused the rumble, crashing, and splitting of wood mentioned early in the passage?

A. Morgan digging frantically
B. The man who was digging struggling out of the hole as it bulged under the landslide
C. Lewis kicking for a foothold
D. The party above running away

B. The man who was digging struggling out of the hole as it bulged under the landslide
The digging man’s hasty escape triggered the noise and collapse.
5. What was the reaction of everyone present after the rubble settled?

A. They rushed forward to help
B. They laughed nervously
C. They stood still, terrified, frightened, and suspicious
D. They immediately began to dig again

C. They stood still, terrified, frightened, and suspicious
The immediate aftermath left the survivors paralyzed by fear and suspicion.

6. Who was the man who spoke and said, “The bloke’s shut up,”?

A. Lewis
B. The warden
C. One of the men with the shovel
D. Morgan

C. One of the men with the shovel
This casual remark contrasts with the seriousness of the man being trapped.

7. Who was the first person to move after the dust cleared?

A. Lewis
B. The clergyman man
C. Morgan
D. The warden

B. The clergyman man
The clergyman took the initiative by dropping his shovel and running to the back of the chancel.

8. What did Lewis begin to scramble away with his hands after calling for Morgan received no reply?

A. Brick and timber
B. The dust cloud
C. The rubble
D. The shovel

C. The rubble
Lewis immediately starts trying to clear the collapsed debris with his bare hands.

9. How far did Lewis initially dig before stopping and looking bewildered?

A. For two feet
B. For three feet
C. For five feet
D. For only one foot

A. For two feet
He only managed to clear a small amount of rubble before realizing the futility of his task.
10. When Lewis was digging and widening the hole, what did the party above see him do?

A. Digging deep into the clay
B. Spitting out the dust, filing down his nails
C. Pulling Morgan out
D. Signaling for help

B. Spitting out the dust, filing down his nails
This highly specific detail emphasizes the strange, almost mechanical nature of his desperate actions.

11. The text compares Lewis’s sudden frenzy of the small man digging to which animal?

A. A dog
B. A rabbit
C. A monkey
D. A mole

C. A monkey
The comparison highlights his frantic, almost comical, energy and small size in the massive task.

12. Lewis eventually disappeared under what structure?

A. The old altar-table
B. A ledge made by the fallen timber
C. The hole in the wall
D. The cracked floor

B. A ledge made by the fallen timber
He crawls underneath a semi-protected area formed by the collapsed wood.

13. Who was the party above calling for when they heard Lewis smashing something?

A. The warden
B. Lewis
C. Morgan
D. The clergyman

C. Morgan
The rescuers remain focused on the missing man, Morgan, showing their singular goal.

14. Lewis was heard scratching like two specific animals. Which ones?

A. A cat or a mouse
B. A bird or a squirrel
C. A dog or a rabbit
D. A badger or a fox

C. A dog or a rabbit
This animalistic sound effect suggests the desperate, prímitive nature of his digging.
15. What was Lewis thinking about the voice he heard, describing it as “unbearable”?

A. The voice of the wicked man
B. The beautiful proud voice, like a tree
C. The shouts of the party above
D. Morgan’s muffled calls for help

B. The beautiful proud voice, like a tree
The wicked man’s triumphant voice, though beautiful, was unbearable in its arrogance.

16. Lewis compared the beautiful proud voice spreading in the air to what type of tree?

A. Oaks of England
B. Cedars of Lebanon
C. Pines of the North
D. Willows by the river

B. Cedars of Lebanon
This Biblical reference adds an ancient, mythic quality to the wicked man’s proud voice.

17. Where was the old man lying when Lewis found him?

A. By the ruined wall
B. Under the old altar-table
C. Near the fallen timber
D. In the tunnel behind the clergyman

B. Under the old altar-table
The old man is found concealed and protected beneath this religious object.

18. What was the old man doing while lying under the altar-table?

A. Mending the floor
B. Drinking a bottle of whisky
C. Sleeping
D. Praying

B. Drinking a bottle of whisky
This anticlimactic discovery contrasts sharply with the earlier dramatic tension.

19. When Lewis asked how the old man got in, what did the old man claim to possess?

A. A new map
B. Lewis’s shovel
C. The warden’s approval
D. “My key”

D. “My key”
The old man claims to have a separate, privileged means of access.
20. After Lewis questioned the old man about his key, what did Lewis state about his own old key?

A. It was stolen last week
B. It was always behind the altar
C. “I always had a key,”
D. It was given up to the police

C. “I always had a key,”
This implies Lewis’s own past involvement and access to the old church grounds.

21. Who crawled back up the tunnel to the daylight after dealing with the old man?

A. The old man
B. Lewis
C. The policeman
D. The man in the tunnel behind the clergyman

D. The man in the tunnel behind the clergyman
This man, initially unseen, reappears to exit the chancel.

22. Lewis referenced which past activity when speaking to the policeman about keys and being there before?

A. Gardening with his father
B. Fishing in the stream
C. Ferreting with his old dad
D. Working in the mines

C. Ferreting with his old dad
This is an activity of hunting rabbits, connecting him to the raw, rural past.

23. The policeman suggested that Lewis should have given up what?

A. The whiskey bottle
B. That key
C. The shovel
D. His suit of clothes

B. That key
The policeman’s final word is a warning and a sign of institutional control over access.

24. Lewis felt that he was face to face with whom, who was trapped and caught?

A. The clergyman
B. Morgan
C. The devil
D. The warden

C. The devil
He felt the presence of the trapped, wicked man was a confrontation with evil itself.
25. Lewis felt that the men had been working and digging for how long?

A. Hours because of this
B. Days since the landslide
C. Weeks since the building collapsed
D. Minutes since the last collapse

A. Hours because of this
His perception of time is distorted by the urgency and intensity of the situation.

26. What comparison was made regarding the powdered rubble dribbling down?

A. Snow in a winter storm
B. Sand in an hour-glass
C. Water from a leak
D. Dust from a chimney

B. Sand in an hour-glass
This image suggests the passing of time and the hopelessness of their attempt to save Morgan.

27. What comment did Lewis make, concerning his own expense, about the work they had done?

A. “I need new tools.”
B. “I’ve ruined a suit of…”
C. “The pay is too low.”
D. “I can’t work in this dirt.”

B. “I’ve ruined a suit of…”
This mundane concern adds a flash of black humor to the tragic setting.

28. The ticking sound grew louder, followed by what happening to the floor?

A. It settled quietly
B. A sudden hurching and groaning of the floor
C. A small crack that widened quickly
D. Silence and darkness

B. A sudden hurching and groaning of the floor
The building continues to collapse, intensifying the danger.

29. Morgan was swung out over the pit by what?

A. Lewis’s rope
B. The table leg
C. His hands, hanging by both hands
D. The shovel handle

C. His hands, hanging by both hands
He saves himself temporarily by clinging to the edge of the pit.
30. What sound did Lewis make just before he could hold on no longer and fell two feet?

A. A shout of pain
B. A plea for help
C. A groan and a snore
D. A whisper of despair

C. A groan and a snore
The sudden, strange sound combines effort, pain, and unconsciousness.

Brief Overview

The Voice is a short story by V. S. Pritchett. The story begins with a wicked man’s voice rising up, full of pride and evil. Suddenly, the sloping timber of the building moans, and slats fall. The warden quickly shouts for everyone to get out.

A landslide buries a man who was digging, and thick dust chokes everyone. The people stand still, filled with fear and suspicion. When no sound comes from the buried man, Morgan, the clergyman is the first to move.

A character named Lewis begins to dig away the rubble with his hands, but he stops after only two feet. He is bewildered and soon disappears under a ledge of fallen timber. There, he hears a beautiful, proud voice that he finds unbearable.

Lewis follows the sound and finds an old man lying under an old altar-table. The old man is propping up the floor and drinking a bottle of whiskey, claiming he got in with “My key.” Lewis is terrified, feeling he is facing the devil himself.

A loud ticking sound grows louder, and the floor begins to split and crash down, creating a deep pit. Morgan is swung out, hanging over the pit by his hands. Lewis shouts for Morgan, groans, snores, and then falls exactly two feet.

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