FSOT Pq - World History And Geography
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Since its introduction in 2002, which country has not adopted Europe's common currency, the Euro.
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Britain.
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Germany.
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France.
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Greece.
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FSOT PQ - World History and Geography
Beware of the typos! They're there to keep you on your toes. OK, not really. Just keep an eye out and let me know.
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- 2.
Transylvania is part of what European state?
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Romania.
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Bulgaria.
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Turkey.
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Greece.
Correct Answer
A. Romania.Explanation
Originally part of Hungary, Transylvania became part of Romania as a result of the 1919 Treaty of Trianon.Rate this question:
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- 3.
Blood diamonds refers to
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The use of contraband diamonds to fund civil insurgencies and terrorism in Africa.
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A rare, reddish gem found only in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
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A diamond-shaped region in western Africa noted for its history of tribal violence.
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A notorious terrorist organization in Germany.
Correct Answer
A. The use of contraband diamonds to fund civil insurgencies and terrorism in Africa.Explanation
Because diamonds tend to be found in some of the most troubled regions of Africa and are difficult to trace, they have been used regularly to fund revolutions and insurrections in Central Africa. Because they often buy guns and bullets, these diamonds are called blood diamonds.Rate this question:
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- 4.
The Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923 took place in
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The Ottoman Empire.
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Russia.
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India.
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East Africa.
Correct Answer
A. The Ottoman Empire.Explanation
After a Turkish nationalist movement came to power in the Ottoman Empire, the government moved to rid the empire of its Armenian Christian subjects.Rate this question:
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- 5.
Although it came to symbolize the entire Cold War conflict, the Berlin Wall was built with what narrower purpose?
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To stop residents of the Soviet sector of Germany from fleeing to the West.
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As a preliminary step to imposing the Berlin Blockade.
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To embarrass President Truman.
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To undermine efforts by the East German government to improve relations with the West.
Correct Answer
A. To stop residents of the Soviet sector of Germany from fleeing to the West.Explanation
Throughout the 1950s, residents of the Soviet sector of Berlin had been able to flee to the West by doing little more than crossing the street or catching a bus. In order to stem this embarrassing flow of defectors, the Berlin Wall, cutting off West Berlin from the rest of East Germany, was built in 1961.Rate this question:
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- 6.
During the Tokugawa Shogunate (1603-1868), Japan's government
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Sought to keep outside influences from reaching Japan as much as possible.
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Was frustrated in its efforts to expand Japanese influence into Asia.
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Encouraged immigration in order to limit population growth.
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Encouraged the efforts of Jesuit and other Christian missionaries.
Correct Answer
A. Sought to keep outside influences from reaching Japan as much as possible.Explanation
The Tokugawa shoguns adopted a policy of cultural, economic, and political isolation and allowed minimal and very controlled, contacts between Japanese merchants and the outside world. Christian missions were forbidden altogether.Rate this question:
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- 7.
During the 1980s, the Soviet experience in this country was compared to the American experience in Vietnam.
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Uzbekistan.
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Kazakhstan.
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Afghanistan.
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Azerbaijan.
Correct Answer
A. Afghanistan.Explanation
Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan in 1979 to prop up a failing socialist regime, leading to a debilitating, decade-long conflict from which the Soviets eventually had to withdraw in humiliating defeat.Rate this question:
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- 8.
Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) was the basis of what policy?
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Nuclear deterrence.
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Chemical weapons ban.
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Biological weapons ban.
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The Geneva Convention.
Correct Answer
A. Nuclear deterrence.Explanation
MAD assumed that as long as neither the Soviet Union nor the United States could hope to survive a nuclear exchange, neither country would be tempted to launch a pre-emptive strike.Rate this question:
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- 9.
The Basque people are indigenous to
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Spain.
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Italy.
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Switzerland.
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Romania.
Correct Answer
A. Spain.Explanation
The Basque, with a language unrelated to any other, were indigenous to the Iberian Peninsula for a millennia before the Celts, Phoenicians, and Romans arrived.Rate this question:
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- 10.
The policy of containment, as enunciated by George Kennan, was based on a belief that
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Communism would eventually collapse of its own accord.
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Global thermonuclear was was inevitable.
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China and Russia were uniquely vulnerable to communist subversion.
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Few people outside f the intelligentsia would ever find communism attractive.
Correct Answer
A. Communism would eventually collapse of its own accord.Explanation
Kennan was persuaded that, in time, the internal contradictions inherent in communism would lead to its collapse in the Soviet Union. His goal was to prevent the expansion of Soviet influence and communism beyond the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.Rate this question:
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- 11.
In the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, Chinese students called for
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A return to traditional Taoist and Confuscianist values.
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Freedom and democracy.
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A recovery of Maoist Communism.
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The overthrow of the Chinese Communist Party.
Correct Answer
A. Freedom and democracy.Explanation
The protesters in Tiananmen Square were careful not to call publicly for an end to Communist Party rule, but their demands for freedom and democracy, symbolized by a Chinese version of the Status of Liberty, appeared to be a fundamental challenge to the Chinese Communist Party's hold on power.Rate this question:
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- 12.
The Seven Years War (1756-1763) went by what name in North America?
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King William's War.
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Queen Anne's War.
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The French and Indian War.
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The War of Jenkin's Ear.
Correct Answer
A. The French and Indian War.Explanation
Unlike earlier Continental wars that spilled over into North America and the Caribbean, the Seven Years War was motivated by conflicting colonial aims. Thus, the Americans came to know it as the French and Indian Wars.Rate this question:
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- 13.
Qat (or khat), a relatively mild stimulant, is most widely used in
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Yemen.
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South Africa.
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Brazil.
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Mexico.
Correct Answer
A. Yemen.Explanation
Qat is increasingly popular in West Africa, but appears to be most widely used in Yemen.Rate this question:
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- 14.
The United States and the People's Republic of China started to normalize relations during the
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Eisenhower administration.
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Kennedy administration.
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Johnson administration.
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Nixon administration.
Correct Answer
A. Nixon administration.Explanation
President Nixon, long an opponent of communism, became the first American president to visit China in 1972, when talks continued over the normalization of relations and an end to China's isolation.Rate this question:
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- 15.
In the 18th century, Botany Bay in Australia served Britain as
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An agricultural research station.
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A penal colony.
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A base for missionary work among the aborigines.
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A leprosy colony.
Correct Answer
A. A penal colony.Explanation
So named for the variety of its plant life, but noteworthy mostly for its hostility to human habitation, Botany Bay served as a place for Britain to dispose of its criminal class from 1788 to 1868.Rate this question:
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- 16.
In traditional Chinese thinking, the loss of the Mandate of Heaven justifies
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A monk's leaving the monastery to enter secular life.
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A son abandoning his family.
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A war of conquest.
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A rebellion against the emperor.
Correct Answer
A. A rebellion against the emperor.Explanation
If the population perceives that an imperial dynasty has lost the mandate of heaven, the dynasty's legitimacy can be challenged and the mandate claimed by another.Rate this question:
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- 17.
Hong Kong became a British possession as a result of
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World War I.
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World War II.
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The Seven Years War.
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The Opium Wars.
Correct Answer
A. The Opium Wars.Explanation
Hong Kong first became a British colony as a result of the Opium Wars. China was forced to surrender the territory in 1859.Rate this question:
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- 18.
Augusto Sandino, whose name came to be associated with the left-leaning Sandinistas, became famous for resisting the United States military intervention in
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Guatemala.
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Cuba.
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Nicaragua.
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The Philippines.
Correct Answer
A. Nicaragua.Explanation
Sandino fought for Nicaraguan freedom and resisted American intervention in the 19th century.Rate this question:
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- 19.
The Wahhabi interpretation of Islam
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Tends to be more secular than other branches.
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Focuses on encouraging spiritual transformation through meditation.
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Calls for a return to the purity of the earliest years of Islam.
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Tends to be more liberal than other branches.
Correct Answer
A. Calls for a return to the purity of the earliest years of Islam.Explanation
Founded by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahab is Arabia in the 18th century, the Wahhabi interpretation of Islam regards all innovations in the faith after about 950 c.e. to be false. The Saudi royal family adheres to the Wahhabi interpretation of Islam.Rate this question:
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- 20.
The body of water that links Sweden, Lithuania, and Russia is
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The Baltic Sea.
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The North Sea.
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The Adriatic Sea.
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The Arial Sea.
Correct Answer
A. The Baltic Sea.Explanation
The Baltic Sea touches Lithuania, Sweden, and Russia as well as Latvia and Estonia.Rate this question:
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- 21.
The Horn of Africa includes all of the following countries except
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Eritrea.
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Ethiopia.
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Somalia.
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Kenya.
Correct Answer
A. Kenya.Explanation
Kenya is farther south and west, and is also culturally different from, the countries in the horn of Africa, the region in West Africa vaguely resembling the horn of a rhinoceros.Rate this question:
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- 22.
In the United Nations Security Council, which country does not have a veto power?
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The People's Republic of China.
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France.
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Japan.
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Great Britain.
Correct Answer
A. Japan.Explanation
The permanent members of the UN Security Council are the United States, Russia, France, China, and Britain.Rate this question:
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- 23.
In traditional Chinese political thinking, the Mandate of Heaven can be lost
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If the emperors lack virtue and can no longer maintain a proper relationship with Heaven.
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If the people lack virtue.
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If the emperor dies without a legitimate male heir.
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If the army suffers a military defeat.
Correct Answer
A. If the emperors lack virtue and can no longer maintain a proper relationship with Heaven.Explanation
The Mandate of Heaven can be lost if the population believes that the emperor no longer maintains right relations with heaven. Thus, a series of bad harvests, drought, flood, or other signs that Heaven is displeased can be enough to bring about the downfall of a dynasty that has, in the eyes of the people, lost the Mandate of Heaven.Rate this question:
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- 24.
During the bloodiest phase of the Mexican Revolution, American troops fought a series of cross-border skirmishes with this revolutionary leader.
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Pancho Villa.
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Emiliano Zapata.
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Alvero Obreson.
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Lazaro Cardenas.
Correct Answer
A. Pancho Villa.Explanation
Pancho Villa made several daring cross-border raids into the United States and was pursued fruitlessly for months by American troops.Rate this question:
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- 25.
A fundamental goal of the concert of Europe was
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To maintain a rough balance of power among the European great powers.
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To encourage democracy within the lesser states.
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To encourage nationalist movements in the Ottoman Empire.
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To promote economic liberalism.
Correct Answer
A. To maintain a rough balance of power among the European great powers.Explanation
The Concert of Europe aimed at maintaining a conservative order in Europe by suppressing nationalism and discouraging free market liberalism.Rate this question:
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- 26.
Manuel Noriega, who ruled Panama from 1983 to 1989, was toppled and imprisoned in the United States on charges
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That he committed crimes against humanity.
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That he was involved in narcotics trafficking.
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That he provided cover for terrorist organizations.
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That he had seized power in Panama illegally.
Correct Answer
A. That he was involved in narcotics trafficking.Explanation
Although he received training at the U.S. Army's School of the Americas and was on the payroll of several U.S. government agencies, Noriega was accused and, after an invasion removed him from power, convicted of drug trafficking.Rate this question:
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- 27.
Although the 1917 Balfour Declaration pledged British support for an eventual Jewish state, Britain strictly limited Jewish immigration to Palestine before 1948
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To placate anti-Zionist sentiments in Britain.
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To encourage Jewish immigration to the less contentious British colony of Uganda.
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To keep from alienating Arab leaders.
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To maintain pressure on the United States to accept higher numbers of refugees.
Correct Answer
A. To keep from alienating Arab leaders.Explanation
The British government had many motives for limiting Jewish immigration to Palestine, but the most compelling was the desire to not antagonize Arab leaders.Rate this question:
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- 28.
The First Opium War (1839-1842) was a result of
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The Chinese government's efforts to halt the importation of opium into China by British and other merchants.
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The British government's efforts to halt the export of opium from China to India.
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American efforts to monopolize legal drug imports from China.
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The Chinese government's refusal to control the production of opium.
Correct Answer
A. The Chinese government's efforts to halt the importation of opium into China by British and other merchants.Explanation
During the first decades of the 19th century, British merchants were profiting handsomely from exchanging opium grown in India for tea grown in China. When the Chinese government tried to crack down on this illegal trade, British merchants appealed to the British government, which responded by attacking China in support of the drug trade.Rate this question:
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- 29.
The French colonial presence in Vietnam became unsupportable
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After the establishment of the Fifth Republic in France.
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After the Japanese conquest of southeast Asia in 1941.
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After the death of President DeGaulle.
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After the battle of Dien Bien Phu.
Correct Answer
A. After the battle of Dien Bien Phu.Explanation
After French forces were defeated at Dien Bien Phu, the French started looking for a way out. Eventually, the French recognized the partitioning of Vietnam between north and south, and American advisors replaced French troops on the ground.Rate this question:
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- 30.
The Hungarian Uprising of 1954 was premised on the hope of American intervention. What American policy made this intervention unlikely.
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Containment.
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Rollback.
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Non-proliferation.
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Avoidance.
Correct Answer
A. Containment.Explanation
The policy of containment, first enunciated by George F. Kennan in 1947, was designed to keep communism within its current boundaries while avoiding armed confrontation with the Soviet Union -- a confrontation that could lead to nuclear war.Rate this question:
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- 31.
The Republic of Panama won its independence from ______________ in 1903.
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Costa Rica.
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Mexico.
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Colombia.
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Honduras.
Correct Answer
A. Colombia.Explanation
With substantial help and prodding from the United States, Panama separated from Colombia and immediately agreed to sign over the Panama Canal Zone to the United States.Rate this question:
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- 32.
The founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, sought to create
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A secular multi-national state.
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A religious national state.
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A religious multi-national state.
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A secular national state.
Correct Answer
A. A secular national state.Explanation
Ataturk envisioned, and largely succeeded, in building a secular, Western-oriented, national state out of the heartland of the old multi-national Ottoman Empire.Rate this question:
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- 33.
Admiral Perry's entry into Yokohama in 1853 led to
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The fall of the Tokugawa shogunate.
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The Opening of Japan to trade with the West.
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The eventual restoration of power to the emperor.
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All of the above.
Correct Answer
A. All of the above.Explanation
ADmiral Perry's display of power convinced many Japanese that their isolation had rendered them vulnerable to the very forces of imperialism the Tokugawa Shogunate had hoped to protect them from.Rate this question:
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- 34.
Bohemia and Moravia are part of what modern state?
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Germany.
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Austria.
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The Czech Republic.
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Switzerland.
Correct Answer
A. The Czech Republic.Explanation
Bohemia and Moravia make up the bulk of the modern Czech Republic.Rate this question:
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- 35.
The Vietnamese celebration of Tet marks
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Vietnamese independence from French rule.
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Vietnamese independence from China.
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Vietnam's victory over the United States.
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The lunar new year.
Correct Answer
A. The lunar new year.Explanation
Tet marks the lunar new year. It was the occasion of a major offensive in 1968 by Vietnamese communist forces against American and South Vietnamese troops.Rate this question:
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- 36.
Simon Bolivar was instrumental in freeing all of the following from Spanish rule except
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Venezuela.
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Colombia.
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Argentina.
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Bolivia.
Correct Answer
A. Argentina.Explanation
Bolivar was an anti-colonial leader who was instrumental in ending Spanish power in Bolivia, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela but not Argentina.Rate this question:
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- 37.
Although intended as a term of derision, banana republic reflected
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The political and economic power of the United Fruit Company in much of Central America.
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The power of the pumpen proletariat in Honduras.
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The autarkic policies of several Central American countries that restricted the growing of export products, like bananas and coffee.
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The power of a few wealthy landowning families in many Central American countries.
Correct Answer
A. The political and economic power of the United Fruit Company in much of Central America.Explanation
The United Fruit Company so completely controlled the economies in several Central American countries that their governments came to be seen as serving the interests of the company and of American consumers.Rate this question:
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- 38.
The Japanese attack on the American Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor had only a limited strategic effect largely because
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The American aircraft carriers were at sea and escaped harm.
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The newest battle ships (with a few exceptions) escaped unharmed.
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Hawaii proved to be of minimal strategic value.
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The Japanese failed to take advantage of the attack in the rest of the Pacific.
Correct Answer
A. The American aircraft carriers were at sea and escaped harm.Explanation
Hawaii was of great strategic value, but was too well defended for the Japanese to have launched a successful invasion. Even the battleships that survived the attack on Pearl Harbor proved to be of limited value. It was the aircraft carrier force that eventually turned the tide of war in the Pacific.Rate this question:
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- 39.
After World War II, the German city of Danzig became
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An independent city-state.
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The Polish city of Gedansk.
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A victim of Stalin's vengeance and was destroyed.
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A Russian enclave in East Germany.
Correct Answer
A. The Polish city of Gedansk.Explanation
A free city during the interwar period, Danzig's German population was expelled as the city was incorporated into Poland after the Second World War and given the Polish name, Gedansk.Rate this question:
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- 40.
The Aral Sea in Central Asia has shrunk dramatically in the last several decades due largely to
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Irrigation.
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Changing weather patterns.
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Dams and channels that divert the sea's upstream sources.
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Geophysical changes that have raised the sea level in the region.
Correct Answer
A. Dams and channels that divert the sea's upstream sources.Explanation
Diversion of the Aral Sea's waters by upstream dams and channels has left much of its former basin a desert.Rate this question:
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- 41.
As an international athletic competition, the first modern Olympiad was held in Athens in
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1840.
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1896.
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1888.
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1916.
Correct Answer
A. 1896.Explanation
The first Olympiad of the modern Olympic movement was held in Athens in 1896.Rate this question:
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- 42.
Cecil Rhodes (1853-1902) advocated what broad goal for British involvement in Africa?
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The establishment of autonomous English-speaking dominions, on the model of Australia and Canada.
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The creation of a continuous line of British possessions connecting Capetown with Cairo.
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Greater respect for indigenous African institutions.
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Greater cooperation with other European powers.
Correct Answer
A. The creation of a continuous line of British possessions connecting Capetown with Cairo.Explanation
The most outspoken of British imperialists, the South African magnate and politician advocated a line of British colonies, eventually linked by rail, connecting the Cape of Good Hope with the Mediterranean.Rate this question:
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- 43.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, Fidel Castro
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Attempted to appease American demands without giving up power.
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Softened his hardline commitment to communism.
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Offered to send Cuban troops to replace Soviet forces in Africa.
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Eased restrictions on religion and looked for new trading partners while maintaining one-party control of the state.
Correct Answer
A. Eased restrictions on religion and looked for new trading partners while maintaining one-party control of the state.Explanation
Having lost the support of his most important trading partner and military guarantor, Castro invited Pope John Paul II to visit Cuba while looking for other markets for Cuban sugar and cigars.Rate this question:
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- 44.
Although the Dalai Lama claims sovereignty over Tibet, the People's Republic of China has ruled the country since China invaded Tibet in
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1949.
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1939.
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1849.
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1969.
Correct Answer
A. 1949.Explanation
Chinese Communist forces invaded Tibet in 1949. The Dalai Lama slipped out of China in 1959 and from exile has continued to press his claim for Tibetan independence from China.Rate this question:
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- 45.
The French Revolution bore what relation to the American Revolution?
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It preceded and partially shaped the American Revolution.
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Like the American Revolution, it was inspired by Enlightenment thinking.
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It bore only a superficial relationship to the American Revolution.
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Unlike the American Revolution, which was political and economic in nature, it was a product of the Enlightenment.
Correct Answer
A. Like the American Revolution, it was inspired by Enlightenment thinking.Explanation
Both the American and French Revolutions were inspired and shaped by Enlightenment thinking. The American Revolution started in 1776; the French Revolution began 13 years later. Both were motivated and shaped in part by political and economic factors, as well as Enlightenment ideology.Rate this question:
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- 46.
The United States emerged as a self consciously colonial power as a result of
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The 1867 purchase of Alaska.
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American intervention in Cuba and Guatemala.
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The Monroe Doctrine.
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The Spanish American War.
Correct Answer
A. The Spanish American War.Explanation
American success in the Spanish American War gave the United States control of the Philippines and Cuba and, for the first time, gave the United States a minor, but quite real, stake in global imperialism.Rate this question:
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- 47.
Although three-fourths of the world's surface is covered by water, how much of the world's water is fresh?
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15 percent.
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10 percent.
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5 percent.
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2 percent.
Correct Answer
A. 2 percent.Explanation
Only two percent of the world's water is fresh. Approximately one-quarter of one percent is available for human use.Rate this question:
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- 48.
Among the states of the former Soviet Union, the state with the closest ties to Russia is
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Azerbaijan.
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Belarus.
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Ukraine.
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Moldova.
Correct Answer
A. Belarus.Explanation
Belarus maintains far closer ties to Russia than any other former member republic of the Soviet Union.Rate this question:
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- 49.
In Mexico, the Dia del Grito (Day of the Call) celebrates
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Miguel Hidalgo's call for universal freedom.
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Mexican independence Day.
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The Expulsion of the French.
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Santa Ana's victory at the Alamo.
Correct Answer
A. Miguel Hidalgo's call for universal freedom.Explanation
Miguel Hidalgo issued the call for universal freedom on what became known as the Day of the Call.Rate this question:
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Mar 20, 2023Quiz Edited by
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Sep 20, 2009Quiz Created by
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