Questions
Note to teachers: The 2009 Year in Review quiz totals 115 points. Delete a few questions of your choosing, or let students try for the extra credit.
U.S. NEWS:
PEOPLE IN THE NEWS: DIRECTIONS: Match the names with their titles (1/2 point each)
1) _______ U.S. General, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan
2) _______ U.S. Secretary of Defense
3) _______ U.S. Secretary of State
4) _______ U.S. General, the head of CENTCOM
5) _______ U.S. Secretary of the Interior
6) _______ U.S. Supreme Court Justice
a. Robert Gates
b. Sonya Sotomayor
c. David Petraeus
d. Ken Salazar
e. Stanley McChrystal
f. Hillary Clinton
MULTIPLE CHOICE: DIRECTIONS: Circle the correct answer. (3 points each)
7. Which of the following was not a real news story of 2009?
a) The World Health Organization declared the Swine Flu a pandemic
b) U.S. Navy Seals rescued American ship Captain Richard Phillips who was being held by Somali pirates
c) Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah bowed before President Obama when they met
d) Large numbers of Americans attended Tea Party rallies across the country to protest the federal government’s out of control spending
8. According to current and former national-security officials, in 2009 cyber spies from _____________________ penetrated the U.S. electrical grid and left behind software programs that could be used to disrupt the system.
a) Chinese and Russian governments
b) al Qaeda and the Taliban
c) North Korea
d) various American eco-terrorist organizations
9. American ship captain Richard Phillips was rescued after
a) Secretary of State Hillary Clinton negotiated with the pirates for his release
b) A British man-of-war attacked the port city that serves as the pirates’ safe haven
c) U.S. Navy snipers shot and killed the pirates
d) President Obama personally met with the leader of the pirates and asked him to release Captain Phillips
10. Solutions offered to put a stop to pirate attacks of cargo ships near Somalia include all but which one of the following:
a) hiring more crew members
b) bombing pirate strongholds in Somalia until they have been completely destroyed
c) taking military action against the pirates in Somalia
d) finding a way to track and freeze pirate assets
11. The purpose of the shuttle Atlantis’ trip in November was to deliver many oversized pieces of equipment to:
a) the International Space Station
b) the Hubble space telescope
c) the surface of the moon
d) the Space Center in Houston
12. What is significant about Sonia Sotomayor’s appointment to the Supreme Court?
a) she is the first single woman to be appointed to this position
b) she is the first Latino to be appointed to the Supreme Court
c) she is the youngest justice ever to be appointed
d) based on her previous rulings and statements, she is believed by many Americans to be unqualified to make impartial decisions
13. The longtime Democratic Senator who died this year after a bout with brain cancer was from which state?
a) Vermont
b) New York
c) Connecticut
d) Massachusetts
14. The stipulation proposed by Republicans (and rejected by Democrats) that Congress be required to enroll in the same federal health insurance plan proposed for the American people gave all but which one of the following reasons for their proposal:
a) by agreeing to be a part of the same system they are offering the American people, Democrats could send a message that they are confident that their bill will benefit Americans
b) No one, including Congress, will be forced to sign on to government-run health care
c) Forcing members of Congress to walk a mile in the shoes of Medicaid patients is the only way Congress will get serious about making the fundamental fixes to Medicaid that the program needs
d) If Congress forces their constituents into a public option plan over time, then members of Congress should be expected to do the same
15. The ruling by the New York State Health Department in the fall required all hospital, hospice and home health care workers to get both a seasonal and H1N1 flu shot. Employees were warned that failure to comply could lead to:
a) a nasty case of the flu
b) dismissal
c) workers being physically restrained while the vaccine is administered
d) denial of promotions
16. In September’s March on Washington, “tea party” protesters went to the Capitol to protest all but which one?
a) budget deficits
b) President Obama’s health care plan
c) the war in Afghanistan
d) big government spending
17. Most people speaking at the “tea party” at the Capitol were ______________.
a) conservative politicians
b) professional lobbyists
c) liberal politicians
d) average citizens
18. The Republican Congressmen who attempted to block the civilian trials of the 9/11 plotters say the terrorists:
a) don’t deserve the same rights as U.S. citizens
b) weren’t read their Miranda rights and therefore should be released
c) should be release to the Saudi government where they can go into the art rehab program for captured terrorists
d) don’t deserve any type of trial and should be executed immediately as enemy combatants
19. Because there will be no cost of living increase in Social Security payments in 2010, President Obama is implementing a plan to send $250 payments to more than 50 million seniors to make up for no increase. The President’s plan to finance the payout to seniors, totaling $13 billion, is:
a) to raise taxes on anyone making more than $200,000 a year
b) to take the money from Social Security
c) he has not said yet how he will pay for the checks to seniors
d) to borrow the money from Saudi Arabia
20. Which of the following promises, made by Barack Obama when he was running for president, has he not fulfilled?
a) his promise to give a speech from a Muslim country within his first few months as president
b) his promose to support development of high-speed rail networks across the country
c) his promise to permit C-SPAN to televise the health care reform negotiations
d) his promise to enact tax credit for consumers for plug-in hybrid cars
21. Why was President Obama’s appointment of czars controversial?
a) they did not have to go through the Congressional screening and the confirmation process Cabinet members must go through
b) they are all Chicago insiders and friends of Weather Underground terrorist Bill Ayers
c) he let Michelle make most of the appointments
d) none of the above
22. Gen. Stanley McChrystal said in a confidential report at the beginning of September that without more troops, the war against insurgents in Afghanistan will end in failure. President Obama delayed his response for three months and then:
a) authorized the deployment to Afghanistan the full 40,000 soldiers Gen. McChrystal said were needed
b) authorized the deployment of 10,000 of the 40,000 soldiers Gen. McChrystal said were needed
c) refused to send any new troops to Afghanistan until General McChrystal set a firm exit date
d) authorized the deployment 30,000 of the 40,000 soldiers Gen. McChrystal said were needed and set a date for their withdrawal
23. Which of the following has President Obama NOT done during his first year in office?
a) lifted the ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research
b) reduced the national debt
c) bowed to the Japanese Emperor when they met
d) reversed the Mexico City Policy which prohibited countries in receipt of U.S. funding from performing or promoting abortions
e) ended the practice of holding an official White House event for the National Day of Prayer
24. How is this man associated with this event?
WORLD NEWS:
PEOPLE IN THE NEWS: DIRECTIONS: Match the names with their titles (1/2 point each)
25) _______ president of Afghanistan
26) _______ ousted president of Honduras
27) _______ interim president of Honduras
28) _______ president of Venezuela
29) _______ president of Iran
30) _______ prime minister of Israel
31) _______ president of Yemen
32) _______ president of Somalia
a. Ali Abdullah Saleh
b. Hugo Chavez
c. Roberto Micheletti
d. Hamid Karzai
e. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
f. Binyamin Netanyahu
g. Manuel Zelaya
h. Sharif Sheikh Ahmed
MULTIPLE CHOICE: DIRECTIONS: Circle the correct answer. (3 points each)
33. The world’s largest summit on climate change, with most world leaders including President Obama bringing pledges to cut global-warming gases, took place in __________ last month.
a) Kyoto
b) Copenhagen
c) Moscow
d) East Anglia
34. In preparation for the 60th anniversary parade and celebration in China, the Chinese government did all but the following:
a) arrested or closely watched leading dissidents and human rights lawyers
b) released leading dissidents, human rights lawyers and Christians who were wrongly imprisoned
c) put much of central Beijing on lockdown by Tuesday
d) put 18 cloud-seeding airplanes on standby to disperse any thunderstorms before they reach Beijing
35. Dignitaries and leaders who attended the commemoration of the fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany include all except:
a) The former Solidarity trade union leader and former Polish President, Lech Walesa
b) Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and the other 26 leaders of the European Union
c) President Barack Obama
d) former South African President Nelson Mandela
36. Violence in _____________ raised the question of whether officials in that city will be able to keep athletes and spectators safe during the 2016 Olympic Games.
a) Mexico City
b) Madrid
c) Rio de Janeiro
d) Chicago
37. In a victory for women in Kuwait, in 2009:
a) the first female lawmakers were elected
b) women were given the right to vote
c) women were given the right to go to college
d) women were given the right to get a driver’s license
38. In a city that rarely sees snow, the second snowstorm of the season in Beijing was triggered by the Chinese government’s Weather Modification Office, in an attempt to:
a) create a winter wonderland for tourists
b) prove that Beijing could hold the next winter Olympics
c) relieve the prolonged drought in the area
d) show that the Chinese government has control over every aspect of society and the environment
39. The Danish government has offered approximately $20,000 to each immigrant who agrees to return to their home countries permanently. They say they are targeting those:
a) who are aren’t adapting to Danish society
b) who are too lazy to work
c) who are Muslims
d) who have learned Danish and can return home to spread Danish culture abroad
40. The president of Honduras was ousted from the country after he was ordered arrested by Honduras’s Supreme Court for pushing an illegal constitutional rewrite that would have allowed him to remain president beyond his term limits. All except which of the following believed his ouster was legal, and did not want him to return to Honduras?
a) the Catholic Church in Honduras
b) the Honduran Congress
c) the Honduran Supreme Court
d) the U.S. government
e) the majority of citizens of Honduras, who voted for the candidate from the opposing party in the November elections
41. A suicide bomber disguised as a woman killed at least 22 people in Somalia in December during a graduation ceremony for medical and engineering students. The group believed to be responsible for the attack in Somalia is:
a) al Shabab
b) al Aqsa martyrs brigade
c) Hezbollah
d) the Knights of Columbus
42. A strong earthquake in the ____________________ triggered a tsunami in the Samoan Islands in September.
a) Caribbean Sea
b) Indian Ocean
c) South Pacific Ocean
d) Philippine Ocean
43. An Irish university student posted a fake quote (which was then used by many media outlets) from a French composer who had died on the composer’s Wikipedia page to show that:
a) under pressure to produce news instantly, media outlets are increasingly relying on Internet sources while sacrificing accuracy and accountability
b) the media have become extremely gullible
c) you shouldn’t believe anything you read from online news sources
d) the majority of reporters have a conservative bias and will use any information that disparages liberals
44. The person awarded the Nobel Peace Prize this year “for extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples” was:
a) Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
b) Saudi King Abdullah
c) U.S. President Barack Obama
d) Mother Teresa
45. The al Qaeda group in which country aided/advised terrorists Nidal Malik Hasan and Umar Farouk Abdul Mutalla?
a) Pakistan
b) Yemen
c) Nigeria
d) Afghanistan
46. Protestors in Iran unhappy with the ruling regime have staged peaceful demonstrations across the country since their candidate lost to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in what they believe was an unfair election. Iranian security forces have responded to the protesters by:
a) listening to their demands
b) laughing at them
c) attacking, beating and arresting them
d) agreeing to hold another election in the spring
47. ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), the organization that oversees Internet domain names voted in October to allow _____________________ to be written completely in Chinese, Arabic, Korean and other languages using non-Latin alphabets.
a) web addresses
b) html code
c) web pages
d) search engines
48. The December publication of emails between scientists at the prestigious Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia in Great Britain revealed that they had some doubts about some of their facts/statistics and therefore called for the suppression of data detrimental to the argument that __________________________.
a) Al Gore is a hypocrite and an opportunist
b) global warming is a serious problem
c) global warming caused by man’s use of fossil fuels does not exist
d) Al Gore invented the internet
49. Several countries celebrated/commemorated significant anniversaries this year. What anniversary did each of the following commemorate?
20 years ago in China __________________________________________________________________________________________________
20 years ago in Germany _______________________________________________________________________________________________
30 years ago in Iran ____________________________________________________________________________________________________
50. Explain why this man is wearing a burqa.
Daily “Answers” emails are provided for Daily News Articles, Tuesday’s World Events and Friday’s News Quiz.
