World History Final Exam 2014
Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
“Less than a generation back the origin of Greek civilization, and with it the sources of all great culture that has ever been, were wrapped in an impenetrable mist. . . . One man had faith, accompanied by works, and in Dr. Schliemann the science of classical antiquity found its Columbus. Armed with the spade, he brought to light from beneath the mounds of the ages a real Troy; at Tiryns and Mycenae he laid bare the palace and the tombs and treasures of Homeric Kings. A new world opened to investigation, and the discoveries of its first explorer were followed up successfully by Dr. Tsountas and others on Greek soil. The eyes of observers were opened, and the traces of this prehistoric civilization began to make their appearance far beyond the limits of Greece itself.”—Sir Arthur Evans, archaeologist,
as quoted in The Discoverers
____1.What discoverer is Dr. Schliemann compared to?
a. / Homer / c. / King Priamb. / Columbus / d. / Magellan
“. . . Athenians suffered further hardship [from the plague] owing to the crowding into the city of people from the country districts; and this affected the new arrivals especially. For since no houses were available for them, and they had to live in huts that were stifling in the hot season, they perished in wild disorder. Bodies of dying men lay one upon another and half-dead people rolled about in the streets and, in their longing for water, near all the fountains. The temples, too, in which they had quartered themselves were full of the corpses of those who had died in them; for the calamity which weighed upon them was so overpowering that men, not knowing what was to become of them, became careless of all law. . . .”
—Thucydides,
as quoted in Eyewitness to History
____2.Why did new arrivals to Athens live in huts?
a. / Huts were the cheapest form of housing.b. / No houses were available for them.
c. / They preferred living in huts.
d. / Everyone in Athens lived in huts.
____3.When the Spartans needed room for expansion, they
a. / conquered neighboring land.b. / set up colonies in Asia Minor.
c. / bought land from neighbors.
d. / all of the above
“. . . when in the wrought chest the wind blowing over and the sea heaving struck her [Danae] with fear, her cheeks not dry, she put her arm over Perseus and spoke: My child such trouble I have. And you sleep, your heart is placid; you dream in the joyless wood; in the night nailed in bronze, in the blue dark you lie still and shine. The salt water that towers above your head as the wave goes by you heed not, nor the wind’s voice; you press your bright face to the red blanket. If this danger were danger to you, your small ear would attend my words. But I tell you, Sleep, my baby, and let the sea sleep, let our trouble sleep . . .”
—Simonides, Greek poet,
as quoted in A Soaring Spirit: Time Frame 600–400 B.C.
____4.What is the relationship between Danae and Perseus?
a. / they are not related / c. / aunt and nephewb. / sister and brother / d. / mother and child
____5.How does Danae feel about Perseus?
a. / She loves him deeply.b. / She doesn’t care what happens to him.
c. / She is angry at him.
d. / She wants to leave him behind.
“Alexander made a reconnaissance in person of the enemy’s strength and dispositions and, despite the eagerness of most of his generals, he decided against a night attack. Instead, he retired to his tent to devise his strategy. He ordered his troops to be well fed and then to rest. Darius, on the other hand, mindful of Alexander’s unpredictable manoeuvres, ordered his army to stand to throughout the night in readiness for a surprise attack. It is certain that the alertness of one side and the fatigue of the other played at least some part in the outcome of the battle next day.”
—Anthony Livesey,
Great Commanders and Their Battles
____6.What did Darius expect Alexander to do?
a. / stage a morning attackb. / stage a night attack
c. / wait for Darius to begin the battle
d. / retire to his tent
____7.The last sentence of the passage hints of what outcome?
a. / There is no battle. / c. / Alexander wins the battle.b. / Darius wins the battle. / d. / They fight, but neither side wins.
____8.What do Epicureanism and Stoicism have in common?
a. / The goal of life is to seek out pleasure.b. / The goal of life is to enjoy friends.
c. / The goal of life is happiness.
d. / The goal of life is to do the right thing.
____9.Who said, “Give me a lever and a place to stand, and I will move the earth”?
a. / Philip II / c. / Euripidesb. / Homer / d. / Archimedes
____10.This Macedonian king loved Greek culture and planned to conquer Persia.
a. / Alexander the Great / c. / Philip IIb. / Aeschylus / d. / Homer
____11.They believed that the human mind could understand everything.
a. / Epicureans / c. / Stoicsb. / Sophists / d. / philosophers
KEY CONCEPTS
____12.Which of the following describes Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations?
a. / Both relied on conquests to expand their power.b. / Both relied on trade to expand their power.
c. / Both were strong and shared much culture.
d. / Both used writing.
____13.With which of the following statements would some historians agree?
a. / The Trojan Horse was used to defeat Troy.b. / The Trojan War was a single battle as told in epic poems.
c. / Troy was located in modern-day Italy.
d. / Greeks and Trojans fought and Troy was destroyed by fire.
____14.Which of the following statements best describes citizens of Athens and other Greek city-states?
a. / They valued their freedoms and took an active role in government.b. / They spoke different languages.
c. / They often overthrew their government by force.
d. / They developed the art of war.
____15.Which of the following statements best describes public life in Athens?
a. / It allowed young boys to be involved.b. / It did not include boys, women, or slaves.
c. / It allowed men and women to be active in politics and society.
d. / It involved visiting the temple each morning.
____16.Which of the following statements best describes the role of poor women in Athens?
a. / They only cooked meals.b. / They only organized spinning and weaving.
c. / They only kept track of the family finances.
d. / They often worked outside the home.
____17.Spartans might be described as
a. / lighthearted and fun-loving. / c. / very fond of business and trading.b. / artistic. / d. / tough, silent, and grim.
____18.Roman armies conquered territories controlled by which of the following?
a. / Persia, Greece, Gaul. / c. / Carthage, Persia, Gaul.b. / Persia, Greece, Carthage. / d. / Carthage, Greece, Gaul.
____19.Rome enjoyed peace and prosperity
a. / during all of the period of the five “good emperors.”b. / during some of the period of the five “good emperors.”
c. / immediately after Augustus died in A.D. 14.
d. / throughout the 500 years of the Roman Empire.
____20.Romans didn’t like being ruled by an Etruscan king
a. / but adopted parts of Etruscan culture including some gods and their alphabet.b. / and refused to fight in the Etruscan army.
c. / but weren’t able to form their own government until Caesar took power.
d. / modeled other parts of their government after the Etruscans.
____21.One of the reasons Caesar was killed was because he
a. / broke up estates and gave them to plebeians.b. / lost control of the large territory of Gaul.
c. / ruled for too long and ruled like a king.
d. / took away the rights of the plebeians.
____22.Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judaea where
a. / Jews already resented Roman rule.b. / the Romans allowed the Jews great freedom.
c. / the empire was not yet established.
d. / the Gospels had been written a few years before.
____23.Jesus taught that God
a. / would not forgive those who sinned.b. / was one of many important gods.
c. / would provide everlasting life for those who followed Jesus’ teachings.
d. / was for Jews to worship but not Romans.
____24.Which of the following statements describes how Paul helped spread Christianity?
a. / He promised that poor people would soon become wealthy.b. / He traveled throughout Africa to speak to Jesus’ followers.
c. / He traveled to cities around the Mediterranean spreading Jesus’ message.
d. / He wrote one of the Gospels.
____25.Constantine moved the capital of the Empire
a. / from the west in Rome to the east in Constantinople.b. / to Alexandria, Egypt.
c. / from the east in Rome to the west in Constantinople.
d. / to Jerusalem because of his faith in Christianity.
____26.The Byzantines recorded and saved the knowledge of
a. / ancient China. / c. / ancient Greece and Rome.b. / only ancient Rome. / d. / only ancient Greece.
____27.The Byzantine Empire lasted a long time because it
a. / had no religious disputes.b. / had little contact with the rest of the world.
c. / grew rich from trade.
d. / had rulers with limited power.
____28.The saying, “There is no god but God,” expresses the importance of the Muslim belief in
a. / prophets. / c. / one God.b. / muezzins. / d. / tolerating others.
____29.The people who finally drove the rulers of Aksum from the coast of Africa were
a. / Muslim traders. / c. / Christian kings.b. / Jewish refugees. / d. / Bantu farmers.
____30.What item did the people of West Africa usually trade to get salt?
a. / gold / c. / silkb. / bronze / d. / water
____31.Most serfs needed a lord’s permission to
a. / have children. / c. / farm the lord’s fields.b. / marry or leave the manor. / d. / supply their own needs.
____32.During the Middle Ages, the largest and most powerful religion in Western Europe was the
a. / Roman Catholic Church. / c. / Protestant Church.b. / Eastern Orthodox Church. / d. / Church of England.
____33.Peasants were often able to improve their standard of living by
a. / staying on the manor for generations. / c. / farming the lord’s fields.b. / fighting in the Crusades. / d. / moving to towns.
____34.What was one problem medieval cities faced?
a. / a lack of guilds / c. / invaders from other citiesb. / no clergy / d. / crowded and unhealthy conditions
____35.The Hundred Years’ War was fought between
a. / Christians and Muslims. / c. / France and Spain.b. / kings and clergy. / d. / France and England.
“By now it was dawn, but the light was still dim and faint. The buildings round us were already tottering. . . . This finally decided us to leave the town. Once beyond the buildings we stopped, and there we had some . . . experiences which thoroughly alarmed us. The carriages . . . began to run in different directions though the ground was quite level. . . . We also saw the sea sucked away and apparently forced back by the earthquake: at any rate it receded from the shore so that quantities of sea creatures were left stranded on dry sand. On the landward side a fearful black cloud was rent by forked and quivering bursts of flame, and parted to reveal great tongues of fire, like flashes of lightning magnified in size.”
—Pliny the Younger,
as quoted in Eyewitness to History
____36.This passage is about a volcano, but much of the description in the passage is about
a. / burning buildings. / c. / carriages.b. / sea creatures. / d. / earthquakes.
____37.“On the landward side” means
a. / away from the volcano. / c. / on the far side of the bay.b. / toward the volcano. / d. / on the sea floor.
____38.The “great tongues of fire” probably referred to
a. / spurts of lava. / c. / burning carriages.b. / the burning town. / d. / the sunrise.
____39.Who could hold political office in early Rome?
a. / any citizen / c. / only plebeiansb. / women / d. / only patricians
____40.What happened on March 15 in the year 44 B.C.?
a. / Caesar began a civil war.b. / Caesar’s enemies killed him.
c. / The Council of the Plebs met.
d. / All enslaved people were freed.
____41.What title did Octavian take?
a. / Cicero / c. / Kingb. / Antony / d. / Augustus
____42.Which was true of patricians?
a. / Most people in the Roman Empire were patricians.b. / People who owned only a small amount of land were patricians.
c. / Patricians did not usually participate in Roman government.
d. / Patricians made significant contributions to the economic welfare of the Roman Empire.
____43.Who was Cincinnatus?
a. / a dictator who served 16 daysb. / a dictator in power until his death
c. / a plebeian
d. / a member of the Senate
____44.The Julio-Claudian rulers included
a. / Antony, Cleopatra, and Octavian.b. / Caligula, Nero, Tiberius, and Claudius.
c. / Trajan, Hadrian, Antonius Pius, and Marcus Aurelius.
d. / Crassus, Pompey, and Caesar.
____45.According to the time line, which happened first?
a. / Romans set up a code of laws.b. / Romans form a republic.
c. / Plebeians could participate in Roman legislature.
d. / The Roman legislature gains control of Rome.
“The creation of a mosaic was a complicated procedure that called for careful timing and teamwork. . . . Walls were painted with resin or tar before being covered with the first of three layers of plaster. . . . A sketch of the projected work was then made on the plaster to serve as a guide for the various artisans. The outermost layer of plaster, in which the pieces, or tesserae, of the mosaic would be set, was spread on only enough area to contain a day’s work. Some of the tesserae—small, carefully cut fragments of colored glass, marble, and semiprecious stones—were pressed into the wet plaster so that they projected at a slight angle. The stones thereby better reflected light and imbued the finished mosaic with a shimmering life of its own.”
—Empires Besieged: Time Frame A.D. 200–600
____46.How many layers of materials were under the tiles?
a. / two / c. / fourb. / three / d. / five
“The gods confound the man who first found out
How to distinguish hours! Confound him, too.
Who in this place set up a sun-dial,
To cut and hack my days so wretchedly
Into small portions. When I was a boy,
My belly was my sun-dial; one more sure,
Truer, and more exact than any of them.
This dial told me when ‘twas proper time
To go to dinner, when I had aught to eat.
But now-a-days, why even when I have,
I can’t fall-to, unless the sun give leave.”
—Plautus, Roman poet,
as quoted in The Discoverers
____47.Which of these statements summarizes the poem?
a. / The gods dislike sun-dials.b. / Sun-dials will lead to mass hunger.
c. / Living by the clock is natural.
d. / Living by the clock is not natural.
____48.What happened when Roman coins lost value in the A.D. 200s?
a. / People began to barter.b. / People collected coins.
c. / The price of goods decreased.
d. / Workers quit their jobs.
____49.The empress Theodora helped
a. / the theater prosper.b. / destroy the Byzantine Empire.
c. / women gain more rights.
d. / Rome become prosperous again.
____50.What were the Greek and Roman names for the goddess of love?
a. / Aphrodite and Juno / c. / Venus and Artemisb. / Aphrodite and Venus / d. / Aphrodite and Diana
____51.When Diocletian took power in A.D. 284, he
a. / harshly put down a peasant revolt.b. / stopped putting gold into coins.
c. / introduced reforms.
d. / fired all workers in Rome.
____52.When do historians date the fall of Rome?
a. / when Augustulus took power / c. / in A.D. 550b. / when Odoacer took control / d. / when Odoacer was killed
____53.From the A.D. 500s to the A.D. 1100s, the Byzantine Empire
a. / was a crossroads for trade.b. / was constantly at war with Rome.
c. / struggled to survive.
d. / was at war with Germanic tribes.
“So was I speaking and weeping in the most bitter contrition of my heart, when, lo! I heard from a neighboring house a voice, as of boy or girl, I know not, chanting and oft repeating, ‘Take up and read; Take up and read.’ Instantly, my countenance altered, I began to think most intently, whether children were wont [likely] in any kind of play to sing such words: nor could I remember ever to have heard the like. So checking the torrent of my tears, I arose; interpreting it to be no other than a command from God, to open the book, and read the first chapter I should find. . . . Instantly at the end of [the first] sentence, by a light as it were of serenity infused into my heart, all the darkness of doubt vanished away.”
—St. Augustine,
as quoted in The Discoverers
____54.How much did Augustine read before his “doubt vanished away”?
a. / one word / c. / one chapterb. / one sentence / d. / one book
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory. . . . all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. . . . I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’”
—Matthew 5:31–40,
Holy Bible
____55.What is the inheritance the blessed ones receive?
a. / sheep / c. / the throneb. / goats / d. / the kingdom
“To suppress the rumor that he was the arsonist, Nero fabricated scapegoats, and punished with every refinement the notoriously depraved Christians. First, Nero had the self-acknowledged Christians arrested. Then, on their information, large numbers of others were condemned. . . . Their deaths were made farcical. Dressed in wild animals’ skins, they were torn to pieces by dogs, or crucified, or made into torches to be ignited after dark as substitutes for daylight. Nero provided his Gardens for the spectacle, and exhibited displays in the Circus, at which he mingled with the crowd, or stood in a chariot, dressed as a charioteer.”
—Tacitus, Roman historian,
as quoted in Old News
____56.On whom did Nero try to place blame for the fire?