The Following Is an Excerpt from ÉMile Zola's Germinal (Evaluating

question 41

Multiple Choice

The following is an excerpt from Émile Zola's Germinal (Evaluating the Evidence 22.3) : "The man had set out from Marchiennes about two o'clock. He walked with long strides, shivering beneath his worn cotton jacket and corduroy breeches. A small parcel tied in a check handkerchief troubled him much, and he pressed it against his side, sometimes with one elbow, sometimes with the other, so that he could slip to the bottom of his pockets both the benumbed hands that bled beneath the lashes of the wind. A single idea occupied his head-the empty head of a workman without work and without lodging-the hope that the cold would be less keen after sunrise."
What do we know about the man Zola describes?

• A)He's unemployed.
• B)He's a factory worker.
• C)He used to be middle class.
• D)He's an escaped prisoner.

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Definitions:

Sales Commissions

Fees paid to sales employees as a reward for making sales, usually a percentage of the sales amount.

Selling Expenses

Costs incurred directly from the selling of products or services, including advertising, sales commissions, and store maintenance.

Variable Costs

Variable costs are expenses that change in proportion with the level of output or activity in a business.

Fixed Selling Expenses

Costs that do not fluctuate with sales volume, such as salaries of sales staff and advertising expenses.