The Politic: Test Your Political Prowess (Spring 2012 II)
1. Which of the following countries exports the most oil to the United States?
(a) Saudi Arabia (b) Russia
(c) Iraq (d) Canada
2. Which of the following presidents did not die in office?
(a) Zachary Taylor (b) James Garfield
(c) Woodrow Wilson (d) Warren Harding
3. Which of the following was the capital of West Germany during the Cold War?
(a) Berlin (b) Hamburg (c) Bonn (d) Munich
4. Winston Churchill resigned as First Lord of the Admiralty after which military defeat?
(a) Battle of Gallipoli
(b) Battle of Zama
(c) Battle of Britain
(d) Battle of Dien Bien Phu
5. Which of the following was not accepted as a tax write off or deductible by the IRS in 2010?
(a) Sex change operation (b) Breast implant
(c) Vasectomy reversal (d) Pet’s health expenses
6. A Malthusian Catastrophe, so named after economist Thomas Malthus, is the worry that:
(a) Printing money to pay back debt will lead to hyperinflation
(b) Decreased fertility will lead to an older population, more welfare expenses, and a shrunken tax base
(c) Population growth outpaces agricultural production
(d) Median incomes stagnant and prices increase
7. Who was FDR’s first Vice President?
(a) Thomas Dewey (b) John Nance Garner (c) Henry Wallace (d) Harry Truman
8. Which of these countries was the last to grant women suffrage?
(a) United States (b) Great Britain (c) France (d) Turkey
9. What percentage of children is born out of wedlock in the United States?
(a) 20% (b) 30% (c) 50% (d) 70%
10. Vice Presidential candidate Lloyd Bentsen told who, “You’re no Jack Kennedy”?
(a) Walter Mondale (b) Dan Quayle
(c) Nelson Rockefeller (d) Spiro Agnew
Answer Key:
1. D
2. C
3. C
4. A
5. D
6. C
7. B
8. C
9. D
10. B
Score:
- 0 – 2: Do you live under a rock?
- 3 – 4: Open up a book, please.
- 5 – 6: You’re not stupid, but it would probably be best to keep quiet at the next cocktail party.
- 7 – 8: Impressive. How’s your social life?
- 9 – 10: Googling answers doesn’t count.
The Politic: Test Your Political Prowess (Spring 2012 I)
1. The political philosopher John Locke is remembered for the Liberalism of his Second Treatise of Government? What did he write the First Treatise on?
(a) Defense of King James II of England
(b) Refutation of Sir Robert Filmer’s Patriarcha which argued that civil society was founded on a divinely sanctioned patriarchalism
(c) A history of the relationship between the Monarchy and Parliament
(d) There was no First Treatise.
2. In 2002, the BBC asked the public to vote for the top 100 greatest Britons in history. Which of the following was in the top 10?
(a) Princess Diana (c) Margaret Thatcher
(b) Duke of Wellington (d) Queen Victoria
3. Presidential hopeful Congressman Ron Paul recently declared: “We are all Austrian now.” Which famous Austrian was he referring to?
(a) Marie Antoinette (c) Archduke Franz Ferdinand
(b) Salomon Mayer von Rothschild (d) Friedrich Hayek
4. Which of the following countries has the highest debt to GDP ratio?
(a) Italy (c) Iceland
(b) Greece (d) Japan
5. Six countries signed the Treaty of Rome in 1957 to establish the European Economic Community, the precursor to the now much larger organization, European Union. Which of the following countries was not one of the original signatories?
(a) France (c) England
(b) Italy (d) Netherlands
6. “The Great Game” refers to the strategic rivalry and conflict between which two powers for supremacy in the Central Asia during the 19th century?
(a) Russia and China (c) Russian and French Empires
(b) British and Russian Empires (d) British and French Empires
7. Which of the following did not occur in 1979?
(a) President Carter takes US off the gold standard to combat stagflation
(b) Chinese invasion of Vietnam
(c) Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
(d) President Carter appoints Paul Volcker Chairman of the Fed
8. Who did economist Milton Friedman call “the most socialist president of the 20th century”?
(a) John F Kennedy for the establishment of the Peace Corps
(b) Lyndon B Johnson for the passage of Medicare Act
(c) Richard M Nixon for new regulations such as the EPA
(d) Jimmy E Carter despite the boycott of the Moscow Olympics
9. Which of the following countries did Hitler not invade during WWII?
(a) Yugoslavia (c) Greece
(b) Sweden (d) Denmark
10. Which country has the highest corporate tax rate in the world?
(a) Japan (c) France
(b) United States (d) Belgium
Answer Key:
(1) B
(2) A
(3) D
(4) D
(5) C
(6) B
(7) A
(8) C
(9) B
(10) A
Score:
- 0 – 2: Do you live under a rock?
- 3 – 4: Open up a book, please.
- 5 – 6: You’re not stupid, but it would probably be best to keep quiet at the next cocktail party.
- 7 – 8: Impressive. How’s your social life?
- 9 – 10: Googling answers doesn’t count.
