Conservapedia:World History Midterm Exam 2009
Closed book; No penalty for wrong answers; 30 minutes long.
1. The person who lived almost precisely between Abraham and us today (on a timeline) was:
(a) Moses
(b) David
(c) Jesus
(d) Constantine
(e) William the Conqueror
2. Match the philosopher to what he emphasized:
| I Socrates | A. experience is what matters most |
| II Plato | B. learning by a method of questions by the teacher and answers by the students |
| III Aristotle | C. logic is what matters most |
(a) I-A, II-B, III-C
(b) I-B, II-C, III-A
(c) I-C, II-B, III-A
(d) I-B, II-A, III-C
(e) I-A, II-C, III-B
3. The oldest known written work dates from about when?
(a) 3000 or 3500 B.C.
(b) 1000 B.C.
(c) 5000 B.C.
(d) 9000 B.C.
(e) 100,000 years ago
4. The Egyptians ignored me; the Romans ignored me; and even the Greek mathematicians ignored me. In fact, non-Europeans first discovered me many hundreds of years after Jesus. Who am I?
(a) the wheel.
(b) fire.
(c) zero.
(d) a calendar.
(e) a prime number.
5. The first legal code that prescribed death for anyone who falsely accused another of a crime was:
(a) Roman law
(b) the Ten Commandments
(c) Hammurabi’s Code
(d) Greek law
(e) American law
6. Place these ancient civilizations in chronological order based on the time of its initial success:
I. Israel
II. Mesopotamia
III. Egypt
IV. Babylon
(a) I, II, III and IV
(b) III, II, I and IV
(c) IV, I, III and II
(d) II, IV, III and I
(e) II, III, IV and I
7. The following were reasons for the decline and fall of the Roman Empire EXCEPT:
(a) inflation
(b) barbarian attacks
(c) lack of morality by the leaders
(d) weaknesses in the Roman language of Latin
(e) rise of Christianity among the people
8. Last Friday, March 20th, a special greeting by Barack Obama was aired in which country for its widespread celebration of the Zoroastrian New Year, which Muslims in that country have tried unsuccessfully to eliminate?
(a) China
(b) Japan
(c) the United States
(d) Saudi Arabia
(e) Iran
9. The birthplace of democracy occurred in what is now:
(a) Egypt
(b) Israel
(c) Greece
(d) Italy
(e) England
10. This person may have done more unintentionally to prepare the world for the spread of Christianity than any other single person:
(a) Paul of Taurus
(b) Alexander the Great
(c) Attila the Hun
(d) Constantine
(e) Hannibal
11. Christianity is different from other major religions in which respects?
(a) its use of logic
(b) its emphasis on love
(c) its emphasis on faith
(d) numerous miracles were performed by its founder
(e) all of the above
12. The English language adapts and easily incorporates words from other languages. Which religion easily adapts and incorporates prophets or gods from other religions?
(a) Judaism
(b) Christianity
(c) Islam
(d) Hinduism
(e) Buddhism
13. Who first said, “To see victory only when it is within the ken of the common herd is not the acme of excellence.”
(a) Barack Obama
(b) Sun Tzu
(c) Genghis Khan
(d) Buddha
(e) Plato
14. Which of the following facilitated the spread of Buddhism?
(a) the Crusades
(b) the Silk Road
(c) Brahmans
(d) Thomas the Apostle
(e) The Huns
15. The Mongols could never conquer Japan, Alexander the Great could never conquer India, and the Roman Empire could never conquer what was (or is):
(a) Carthage
(b) Jerusalem
(c) Greece
(d) Germany
(e) France
16. Which of these South American civilizations is compared most to the ancient Greek civilization in terms of achievement?
(a) Moche
(b) Maya
(c) Inca
(d) Aztec
(e) Toltec
17. Fasting by adherents of Islam occurs when?
(a) at night, one month a year
(b) at night, one week a year
(c) during daylight, one week a year
(d) during daylight, one month a year
(e) an entire month each year, except for the Sabbath
18. Which area of the world independently developed feudalism at the same that Europe did?
(a) South America
(b) Africa
(c) China
(d) India
(e) Japan
19. Which was the most successful Crusade?
(a) the Children’s Crusade
(b) Number 1
(c) Number 2
(d) Number 3
(e) Number 4
20. Rank the greatest empires by land area:
I. Mongol
II. Roman
III. Egyptian
(a) I, II, and III
(b) I, III and II
(c) II, I, and III
(d) III, II, and I
(e) none of the above
21. All of the following are characteristics of Gothic architecture EXCEPT:
(a) small windows
(b) flying buttresses
(c) stained-glass colored windows
(d) relics
(e) a labyrinth interior
22. Which of the following best describes the greatest commandment of Islam?
(a) Love each other
(b) Love Allah
(c) Submit to Allah
(d) Believe in reincarnation
(e) Avoid prayer
23. Who wrote the following version of the Prodigal Son: “Forsothe he seith, Sum man hadde tweye sones; And the 3ongere seide to the fadir, Fadir, 3yue to me the porcioun of substaunce, that byfallith to me. And the fadir departide to him the substaunce.”
(a) Martin Luther
(b) King Henry VIII
(c) John Wycliffe
(d) the Pope
(e) Luke
24. Once might say that President Lyndon Johnson did not know much world history when he unsuccessfully involved the United States heavily in the Vietnam War. Why might one say that?
(a) Because the Vietnamese treated women much better than the Chinese did.
(b) Because the Vietnamese treated women much worse than the Chinese did.
(c) Because the Vietnamese were the only people able to defeat the Chinese.
(d) Because the Vietnamese defeated three attempts by the Mongols to conquer Hanoi.
(e) Because Vietnam is a very small country.
25. Who said (translated into English) “A prince never lacks legitimate reasons to break his promise” and “A wise ruler ought never to keep faith when by doing so it would be against his interests.”
(a) Martin Luther
(b) one of the popes
(c) Leonardo da Vinci
(d) Machiavelli
(e) Michelangelo
26. One or more characteristics of the Baroque style is:
(a) the use of “supermodels” as subjects to paint about
(b) emphasis on nature rather than people
(c) the use of shadows, diagonals, and sparking emotion in the viewer
(d) painting only about people who lived during the Renaissance
(e) doing sculptures like David or Michelangelo
27. The Punic Wars culminated in:
(a) victory for Hannibal
(b) Julius Caesar’s finest hour
(c) Pax Romana
(d) Roman brutality in salting Carthage
(e) an apology from Rome
28. The Roman Empire continues to be most influential to this day with respect to:
(a) its legal rules and system
(b) the types of weapons its soldiers used
(c) its respect for Christianity
(d) its great philosophers
(e) its great mathematicians
29. Martin Luther changed the world by personally inventing or emphasizing which of the following?
(a) the printing press
(b) the idea of salvation by faith alone
(c) gunpowder
(d) divorce
(e) the Renaissance
30. The time period from 1450 to 1650 is often called:
(a) the Dark Ages
(b) the time before the Reformation
(c) the Age of Exploration
(d) the Middle Ages
(e) the Crusades
31. The largest (non-contiguous) and greatest empire in the history of the world owed much of its success to which of the following?
(a) Nero
(b) Adam Smith’s discovery of the “invisible hand”
(c) barbarian warfare
(d) Greek democracy
(e) the Mongolian system of justice
32. Each of the following played key roles in the “Scientific Revolution” EXCEPT:
(a) Nicolaus Copernicus
(b) Galileo
(c) Johannes Kepler
(d) Isaac Newton
(e) Edmund Burke
33. Order these there rulers chronologically:
I. Charlemagne
II. Pepin the Short
III. Charles the Hammer
(a) I, II and III
(b) I, III and II
(c) II, I and III
(d) III, II and I
(e) III, I and II
34. Each of the following were African kingdoms during the Middle Ages EXCEPT:
(a) Kongo
(b) Zimbabwe
(c) Aksum
(d) Nigeria
(e) Ghana
35. Who said the following (translated into English): “The hottest places in Hell are reserved for those who in time of great moral crises maintain their neutrality”:
(a) Dante
(b) David Hume
(c) John Wycliffe
(d) Buddha
(e) Machiavelli
HONORS (all should attempt to answer these):
36. An Enlightenment philosopher who criticized pure reason and praised Christianity was:
(a) David Hume
(b) Voltaire
(c) Rousseau
(d) Locke
(e) Kant
37. List these in chronological order:
I. The Qin or Ch'in dynasty
II. The Han dynasty
III. Three Kingdoms
IV. The Sui Dynasty
VI. The Song Dynasty
V. The Tang Dynasty
(a) I, II, III, IV, V and VI
(b) I, II, III, IV, VI and V
(c) I, III, II, IV, VI and V
(d) II, I, III, IV, V and VI
(e) III, I, I, III, IV, VI and V
38. Rank these in their proper order, from highest to lowest:
I. Kshatriya
II. Brahmans
III. Shudra (including laborers)
IV. Vaishya (including merchants)
(a) II, I, IV and III
(b) II, I, III and IV
(c) I, II, III and IV
(d) IV, III, I and II
(e) IV, III, II and I
39. The Great Schism involved which of the following disputes?
I. The use of icons and statutes
II. Allowing priests to marry
III. Whether the Holy Spirit comes from the Father and the Son, or just the Father
IV. Whether salvation is by faith alone
(a) I, II and IV
(b) I, II and III
(c) I, II, III and IV
(d) II, III and IV
(e) none of them
40. The term “feudalism” did not develop until the year 1818! Why might that be?
(a) Because that is when feudalism flourished.
(b) Because English did not develop until then.
(c) Because it comes from the Latin word “feud”, which means “food”
(d) Because no one ever talked about the structure of lords, vassals and serfs before then
(e) Because people during the Enlightenment criticized the system, and they need word (an “ism”) to use in criticizing it.
41. “God is defined as perfection; existence is part of perfection; therefore God must exist.” That argument is similar to:
(a) Martin Luther’s proof of the existence of God.
(b) Anselm’s ontological proof of the existence of God
(c) Anselm’s cosmological proof of the existence of God
(d) Thomas Aquinas’s ontological proof of the existence of God
(e) Thomas Aquinas’s cosmological proof of the existence of God
42. Who destroyed Ninevah and also founded the “Neo-Babylonian Empire”?
(a) the Hebrews
(b) the Assyrians
(c) the Chaldeans
(d) the Egyptians
(e) the Sumerians
43. “Misogamy” is an English word that means “a hatred of marriage.” Based on world history, including the history of the development of the English language, what would you estimate as the date of origin of that word?
(a) 439
(b) 1055
(c) 1263
(d) 1656
(e) 2009
44. About how long did the persecution of the early Christians last under the Roman Empire?
(a) 100 years
(b) 150 years
(c) 275 years
(d) 375 years
(e) 450 years
EXTRA CREDIT:
(Girls only) An example of modern chivalry for girls would be all of the following EXCEPT:
(a) protecting a young child whose parent is distracted by something else
(b) thanking a boy who offers to help carry something
(c) lightening the stress on boys and men, who live on average 7 years less than girls and women
(d) insisting on participating in an all-boy activity like tackle football
(e) welcoming a boy when he might feel awkward
(Boys only) An example of modern chivalry for boys would be all of the following EXCEPT:
(a) protecting a girl from danger that you recognize but she does not
(b) showing good sportsmanship after winning or losing an athletic contest
(c) thanking a girl for making chocolate brownies that you enjoyed
(d) showing initiative and welcoming a girl when she enters a room
(e) making a joke at the expense of people having physical handicaps
THE END. CONGRATULATIONS!!!