Child Employment in Victorian Britain (Present and Past Review)

Complete the text with the appropriate form of the verb in brackets. It can be Present Simple, Present Continuous, Present Perfect Simple, Past Simple or Past Continuos.

Child Employment in Victorian Britain


In Victorian London, mud larks were children who (search of)_______________ valuable bits and pieces on the shores of the River Thames. They (not do)________________ this from boats, but (wait)_______________ until the tide (go)_______________ out, and then (crawl)_______________ ahout in the river mud looking for anything valuable. Henry Mayhew, a Victorian writer, (interview)_______________ 'mud lark' in his book about poor working people in London in the 1850's. 'My family is Irish though I was born in London. My father (work)_______________ at London Docks. He is a strong-bodied mand of 34. I (go)________________ to school with my brothers for about three years and (learn)________________ reading and writing and arithmetic. One of my brothers (be)_______________ at sea for the past five years. I (work)_________________ in the neighbourhood of Millwall picking up pieces of coal and iron, copper and bits of canvas on the surface. When bargemen I (carry)_______________ coal to the shore some of it (fall)_________________ in the mud and we (pick it up)__________________. The most I (ever see)________________ my companions find is one shilling's worth a day. There are usually thirteen or fourteen mud larks, boys and girls, around Limehouse in the summer and six boys steadily in the winter. When a bargeman (get hold)___________________ of one, he generally (throw)__________________ them into the river. The police boat (chase)_________________ me two or three times. One night I (see)________________ a large piece of cooper drop down where they (repair)__________________ a ship. That evening as a ship (come)___________________ out of the docks, I (strip off)________________ my clothes and (dive)__________________ down several feet, (seize)___________________ the piece of copper and later (sell)_________________ it to a marine dealer.

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