Deck 26: Western Civilization and the Global Community

Question 1

Who described the Soviet Union as an "evil empire"?

A)President Reagan
B)President Bush
C)Margaret Thatcher
D)John Major
E)Joseph Stalin

Answer 1

President Reagan

Question 2

Which was the first country to rid itself of communist leadership after Gorbachev indicated that he would no longer interfere with their internal affairs?

A)Poland
B)Romania
C)Czechoslovakia
D)Finland
E)Afghanistan

Answer 2

Poland

Question 3

Which nation did the Soviet Union invade in 1979?

A)Afghanistan
B)Korea
C)Poland
D)Chechnya
E)Uzbekistan

Answer 3

Afghanistan

Question 4

The European Coal and Steel Authority was a forerunner of

A)the European Union.
B)NATO.
C)the Commonwealth of Independent States.
D)the United Nations.
E)the Kyoto Accords.

Question 5

Which country became the leading European economic power by the 1990s?

A)Germany
B)Italy
C)England
D)France
E)Spain

Question 6

Anwar Sadat,who was assassinated in 1981,was president of which country?

A)Egypt
B)Israel
C)Saudi Arabia
D)Jordan
E)Syria

Question 7

"Cradle to grave" assistance is commonly associated with what type of political system?

A)the welfare state
B)communism
C)the police state
D)classical liberalism
E)anarchism

Question 8

This country's leader,Deng Xiaoping,used military force to suppress a student-led democracy movement in 1989.

A)China
B)Korea
C)Vietnam
D)Taiwan
E)Singapore

Question 9

Of the Western European states,which remains the most skeptical about the spread of American culture in Europe?

A)France
B)Italy
C)England
D)Germany
E)Spain

Question 10

At the end of the twentieth century,what fraction of the world's population was Muslim?

A)one-fifth
B)one-half
C)one-third
D)one-eighth
E)one-tenth

Question 11

Who became the prime minister of England in 1997?

A)Tony Blair
B)Jacques Chirac
C)Margaret Thatcher
D)John Major
E)John Chamberlain

Question 12

Which country,attempting to gain its independence,allegedly engaged in terrorist attacks against Russia in the late 1990s?

A)Chechnya
B)Belarus
C)Romania
D)Estonia
E)Yugoslavia

Question 13

Who called for the formation of the New International Economic Order?

A)developing nations
B)the United States
C)European nations
D)the United Nations
E)the Soviet Union

Question 14

Which ethnic group attacked and drove Muslim ethnic Albanians from their homes in Kosovo?

A)Serbs
B)Herzogovinians
C)Bosnians
D)Croats
E)Russians

Question 15

In what year did the Soviet Union cease to exist?

A)1991
B)1999
C)1989
D)2001
E)1984

Question 16

Who quadrupled the price of oil in 1973?

A)OPEC
B)NATO
C)NIEO
D)EEC
E)UN

Question 17

Before he became the leader of the former Czechoslovakia in 1989,Vaclav Havel was a well-known

A)playwright.
B)general.
C)athlete.
D)actor.
E)lawyer.

Question 18

Which country,whose economy had been decimated after World War II,became second to the United States in gross domestic product by the 1980s?

A)Japan
B)China
C)Korea
D)Germany
E)Vietnam

Question 19

Who adopted a Universal Declaration of Women's Rights in 1967?

A)the United Nations
B)NATO
C)EEC
D)the United States
E)the European Union

Question 20

Francis Crick and James Watson discovered

A)the structure of DNA.
B)penicillin.
C)a polio vaccine.
D)the human role in global warming.
E)the AIDS virus.

Question 21

In what way was the UN Universal Declaration of Women's Rights irrelevant to non-Western women?

A)Non-Western women work out of necessity and do not experience the "cult of domesticity" that was an important focus for the UN.
B)Non-Western women do not tend to be victims of human rights abuses in their home countries.
C)Non-Western women do not tend to experience gender-based discrimination in their home countries.
D)Non-Western women did not participate in its creation and therefore could not be affected by it.
E)Non-Western women lived under governments that were not part of the United Nations and therefore outside of its scope.

Question 22

What event in Japan in the spring of 2011 caused a cooling of interest in nuclear energy?

A)earthquake
B)hurricane
C)economic collapse
D)political upheaval
E)terrorist attacks

Question 23

Yugoslavia's failure to make a successful transition to democracy and economic reform can be attributed to

A)internal ethnic and religious divisions.
B)intervention by outside powers.
C)the lack of sufficiently nationalist leaders.
D)NATO's failure to play a role in the area.
E)Russian interference in the process of democratization.

Question 24

The Rio de Janeiro and Kyoto meetings on global warming demonstrate that

A)environmental problems are difficult to address without support from leading industrial states.
B)the concept of global warming has been proven to be at worst a hoax,at best simply a mistake.
C)the international community as a whole has no real interest in environmental issues.
D)global warming is a reality,but it is only a significant problem for the less developed world.
E)Western nations are ready and willing to pay the costs of dealing with pollution on a global level.

Question 25

The U.S.-led response to the terrorist attacks of September 11,2011,resulted in

A)the ousting of the Taliban from Afghanistan.
B)the immediate death of Osama bin Laden.
C)international unity and cooperation on an invasion of Iraq.
D)clear,achievable objectives against Islamic fundamentalists.
E)a strengthening of religious unity between Islamic and Christian nations.

Question 26

Which of the following is NOT one of the criticisms leveled against modern Western civilization and globalization at the end of the twentieth century?

A)Western civilization has offered very little culturally or intellectually compared to other peoples.
B)The omnipresence of Western values and culture undermines the cultural integrity of peoples and societies around the world.
C)Modern Western civilization has marginalized faith traditions in favor of a form of secular rationalism.
D)Western civilization is frequently associated with economic and cultural exploitation.
E)Western civilization has been accused of degrading the natural environment.

Question 27

Which of the following is NOT true about the changes in medical technology in the twentieth century?

A)Cloning was met with unified praise and support for its medical implications.
B)Cancer rates were reduced with new chemical interventions.
C)Organ transplant treatments became more common and successful.
D)Heart bypass operations were available at most major hospitals.
E)Chronic psychiatric conditions were treated with new psychotropic drugs.

Question 28

What is the relationship between the increase in standard of living and environmental degradation?

A)As nations develop,the speed of environmental degradation increases.
B)As nations develop,the speed of environmental degradation decreases.
C)As nations develop,environmental changes become easier to avoid.
D)As nations develop,economic improvements allow nations to solve environmental issues quickly.
E)As nations develop,environmental problems become less significant.

Question 29

What is the best explanation for the U.S.invasion of Iraq?

A)The Bush administration had acted on flawed intelligence information.
B)The Bush administration wanted to oust Saddam Hussein
C)The Bush administration was reacting to a direct attack.
D)The Bush administration had proof that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.
E)The Bush administration was interested in colonizing the Middle East.

Question 30

Since Vladimir Putin came to power in 2000,Russia has

A)become more nationalistic and statist.
B)steadily improved relations with the West.
C)moved toward greater economic equality and opportunity.
D)cooperated with the United States on European security issues.
E)become a more democratic and open society.

Question 31

Supporters of liberation theology championed the rights of

A)poor people.
B)the wealthy.
C)Christians.
D)Latin Americans.
E)women.

Question 32

Betty Friedan's ideas in her book The Feminine Mystique drew from the work and legacy of

A)Simone de Beauvoir.
B)Mikhail Gorbachev.
C)Ronald Reagan.
D)Angela Merkel.
E)Francois Mitterrand.

Question 33

Which of the following characterizes the postcommunism period in East Germany?

A)steady improvement of living standards
B)immediate embrace of Western lifestyles
C)rapid return to neo-Nazi values
D)deterioration of relations with the rest of Europe
E)economic decline for all of Germany

Question 34

Western nations have resisted addressing global ecological disasters because they

A)did not want to curb the lifestyles of their citizens.
B)could not afford to make a change.
C)wanted to sell more resources.
D)wanted developing nations to have equal opportunities for development.
E)did not believe the science was accurate.

Question 35

Which of the following trends accounts for the reduced wages of educated professionals in Europe and in North America?

A)Manufacturing migrated to cheap labor markets in the developing world.
B)The quality of education decreased.
C)Profits earned by global businesses decreased.
D)Technological innovations slowed.
E)Regional and national distinctions disappeared.

Question 36

For Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini,who represented "the Great Satan"?

A)the United States
B)the Soviet Union
C)France
D)Italy
E)Iraq

Question 37

Following the terrorist attacks of September 11,2001,which of the following nations was invaded by the United States,resulting in the fraying of international support for the United States?

A)Iraq
B)Libya
C)Iran
D)Syria
E)Saudi Arabia

Question 38

What is the "glass ceiling" in the professional world of Western countries?

A)limited access to promotion for women
B)lack of accommodations for the disabled
C)racial discrimination in the workplace
D)lack of opportunities for the less educated
E)business leaders' unwillingness to adopt new technology

Question 39

From the 1950s to the 1980s,nuclear war was prevented by

A)the policy of mutually assured destruction.
B)Soviet and American foreign policy restraint.
C)giving the UN control of nuclear weapons.
D)the United States and the Soviets having too few nuclear weapons to attack each other.
E)a series of international arms control treaties.

Question 40

The goal of the European Coal and Steel Authority was to

A)eliminate tariff barriers between West Germany and France.
B)create a common currency.
C)begin a process of lasting peace.
D)reverse the effects of the Marshall Plan.
E)monopolize world steel supplies.

Question 41

Which of the following statements regarding the stagnation of the Soviet economy is FALSE?

A)Even the leaders were affected by the depression and lived lives similar to that of the common worker.
B)The Soviet economy neither allowed nor rewarded flexibility or risk taking.
C)Workers had little motivation to work hard since the state guaranteed their position for life.
D)Managers were reluctant to challenge decisions of party leaders regarding economic priorities.
E)Information sectors had little freedom of expression and were watched by strict censors.

Question 42

What conviction is consistent in Islamists from North Africa to Southeast Asia?

A)the rejection of Western culture
B)the extension of equal rights to women
C)resistance to colonial rule
D)the embrace of globalization
E)reinterpretation of the Qur'an with a modern perspective

Question 43

The ancient tradition in which a bride's family pays an agreed sum to the family of the groom is called

Question 44

What groups in Yugoslavia experienced the greatest ethnic and religious tensions?

A)the Serbs and the Croats
B)the Montenegrins and the Albanians
C)the Slovenes and the Montenegrins
D)the Bosnians and the Croats
E)the Albanians and the Serbs

Question 45

The problem of the income gap between rich and poor nations is responsible for all of the following EXCEPT

A)a decrease in manufacturing jobs in the developed world.
B)increases in terrorism.
C)immigration to Western nations.
D)the rejection of capitalism.
E)increasing resentment of Western cultures by developing nations.

Question 46

What inference can be made about the restrictions on the freedoms of women based on the availability of contraception?

A)Greater availability of contraception indicates a greater level of freedom for women.
B)Women tend to be seen as equal to men in nations where contraception is less common.
C)Restrictive contraception is a nation's strategy for providing broad-scale women's rights.
D)Women have more restricted rights in nations where contraception is readily available.
E)Restrictive contraception is closely associated with equal educational rights for boys and girls.

Question 47

Relations between Moscow and Chechnya in the 1990s exemplified

A)conflicts arising from ethnic nationalism.
B)policies encouraging integration of minorities into the CIS.
C)Putin's support for democracy and self-determination.
D)the promise of peaceful Christian-Muslim relations in eastern Asia.
E)Russia's unwillingness to involve itself in former Soviet republics.

Question 48

What was the connection between al-Qaeda and the oppressive regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq?

A)No connection existed between Hussein and al-Qaeda.
B)Both were directly involved in the September 11th attacks.
C)Hussein harbored al-Qaeda operatives.
D)Al-Qaeda offered financial and political support for Hussein.
E)Hussein expelled al-Qaeda operatives from his country.

Question 49

Which of the following is NOT true of social trends in late twentieth-century Europe?

A)The role of organized religion increased.
B)Divorce rates increased.
C)Birthrates declined.
D)Single-parent homes became more commonplace.
E)Europe became more economically and socially similar to the United States.

Question 50

The movement from the European Coal and Steel Authority to the European Union was mainly based on shared European

A)economic interests.
B)fear of the Soviet Union.
C)military objectives.
D)resentment of Germany's reunification.
E)desire to withdraw from NATO.

Question 51

What process is likely to cause ocean levels to rise,increased number of destructive storms,and disrupted world agriculture?

Question 52

In 1941,what did scientists discover could be used effectively to treat septicemia?

Question 53

What stand did the Roman Catholic Church take toward Jews after WWII?

A)The church repudiated its own history of anti-Semitism.
B)The church condemned many Jews for heresy.
C)The church encouraged mass Jewish conversion to Catholicism.
D)The church upheld its anti-Semitic policies from history.
E)The church denied the Holocaust had happened.

Question 54

As Vaclav Havel has observed,a major cultural problem in the modern world is that

A)Western culture is a source ofs both strengths and problems.
B)shared cultural standards no longer exist.
C)people in the undeveloped world have no interest in being part of Western civilization.
D)the West has nothing more to contribute to the world.
E)cultural diversity is more destructive than productive.

Question 55

Who benefited the least from the information age in Western countries?

A)blue collar workers
B)farmers
C)the health-care industry
D)consumer-services industries
E)women

Question 56

What was the name of the economic program that reduced the size of the Russian central bureaucracies?

Question 57

Since 1800,the "North-South divide" in economic equality

A)has become more pronounced,not less.
B)has been overcome by improving technology.
C)is slowly improving,with the gap between rich and poor nations narrowing.
D)is not a significant global issue in the twenty-first century.
E)is a problem more of perception than fact.

Question 58

What European nation was reunified in the 1990s after 45 years of division?

Question 59

What notable success did Boris Yeltsin have during his rule of Russia?

A)nuclear disarmament
B)economic stability
C)availability of consumer goods
D)lowering of unemployment
E)preventing corruption

Question 60

Which of the following characterizes the work experience of immigrants arriving to Western countries in the late twentieth century?

A)substandard housing and dangerous labor
B)professional work with high pay
C)good benefits for dirty labor
D)health insurance and housing subsidies
E)dull work for high pay