News Quizzes

Think you know what’s going on in the world? Find out right now, by taking a News-Basics quiz.

To find a quiz on a particular topic, use the Find function in your browser and enter a keyword, e.g., “Libya,” or “Steroids.” Or, just scroll down and take whichever quiz you like.

Each quiz includes five easy questions and five more challenging questions. You can find all of the answers in the News-Basics article.

Teachers are welcome to copy these quizzes. Use them as classwork or homework (students read the article and fill in the answers), or to test retention of key facts.

(For answers to the quizzes, send an email here. We’ll send back a complete set of quizzes with the answers provided.)

News-Basics Quiz: Occupy Wall Street

The Basic Five: You should know these.

1. What, basically, were the demonstrators protesting against?

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2. What is the name of the plaza in New York City the demonstrators occupied in the fall of 2011?

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3. What were the protesters’ demands?

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4. In an incident widely seen on YouTube, police used a common crowd-control tool against women who were penned inside orange mesh nets. What was that tool?

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5. Have the protests been confined to the U.S.?

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Five Challenges: Find the answers on News-Basics.

6. What inspired the protests?

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7. What is the name of the group that first proposed a peaceful occupation of Wall Street?

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8. How do protest organizers describe the decision-making process at Occupy Wall Street?

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9. What basic features do Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party share? What distinguishes them?

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The Basic Five: You should know these.

1. What is the “two-state solution”?

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2. Who was the long-time leader of the PLO until his death in 2004?

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3. What is Hamas?

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4. What is the name of the territory that is the presumed location for a future Palestinian state?

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5. Who is the current prime minister of Israel?

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Five Challenges: Find the answers on News-Basics.

6. What were the two Intifadas?

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7. What two leaders signed the Oslo Accords in 1993?

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8. What is the “Road Map”?

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9. What was the Balfour Declaration?

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The Basic Five: You should know these.

1. Who ruled Libya from 1969 until 2011?

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2. What is the capital of Libya?

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3. What European countries joined the U.S. in the military assault on Libya’s government forces?

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4. Why did the U.N. Security Council impose a No-Fly Zone over Libya?

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5. Why does Qaddafi’s name have so many different spellings?

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Five Challenges: Find the answers on News-Basics.

6. How did President Obama justify American airstrikes on Libya?

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7. What law, cited by the House of Representatives, forbids U.S. armed forces from fighting for more than 60 days without congressional authorization?

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8. Qaddafi sponsored terrorist attacks during the 1970s and 1980s. What 1988 incident was the most notorious of these attacks?

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9. Why have we hesitated to arm the rebels?

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10. Which of Qaddafi’s sons has proposed that he take over from his father?

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News-Basics Quiz: Disaster in Japan

The Basic Five: You should know these.

1. What part of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station’s equipment was disabled by the earthquake and tsunami?

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2. What is a meltdown?

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3. Where in the former Soviet Union did the worst nuclear disaster in history occur?

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4. Why did the disaster in Japan affect manufacturing around the world?

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5. Where did a nuclear accident occur in the U.S. in 1979?

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Five Challenges: Find the answers on News-Basics.

6. Who was the prime minister of Japan at the time of the disaster?

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7. If three of the power station’s reactors were shut down before the quake and the other three were shut down immediately after, why was there a problem with overheating?

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8. What is the unit used for measuring radiation doses in the U.S.? What unit is used in Asia and Europe?

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9. How much of the electricity used in the U.S. is generated by nuclear power?

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10. What American company designed the reactors at the Fukushima plant?

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News-Basics Quiz: Egypt and the Arab Uprisings

The Basic Five: You should know these.

1. Which was the first Arab country to see protests against the government succeed?

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2. Who was the president of Egypt for 30 years, until 2011?

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3. What is the name of the Islamic organization that has emerged as a powerful political force in Egypt?

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4. What city is the capital of Egypt, and home of Tahrir Square, scene of the most dramatic protests against the government?

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5. Did the U.S. government support or oppose the protest movement in Egypt?

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Five Challenges: Find the answers on News-Basics.

6. What basic grievances were shared by the Arab countries where citizens rebelled against their governments?

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7. How and when did Mubarak become president?

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8. What Egyptian Google executive became an important leader of the protests?

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9. In May, 2012, Egyptians went to the polls and cast votes for candidates for what office?

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10. Why has Mubarak’s ouster created anxiety in Israel?

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News-Basics Quiz: WikiLeaks

The Basic Five: You should know these.

1. Who was the most visible spokesman for (and public face of) WikiLeaks?

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2. Among the documents leaked by WikiLeaks are thousands that shed light on wars in what two countries?

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3. Who is the chief suspect in the leaks of military information in 2010?

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4. What U.S. law makes it a crime to convey information with the intent to interfere with U.S. military action?

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5. In December, 2010, WikiLeaks aroused indignation in Washington by releasing a list of sites the U.S. considers vital to what?

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Five Challenges: Find the answers on News-Basics.

6. The diplomatic cables released in 2010 showed that the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain and Israel had urged the U.S to do what?

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7. What major periodicals collaborated with WikiLeaks by publishing edited versions of the released documents?

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8. The diplomatic cables also revealed that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ordered U.S. diplomats to spy—on whom?

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9. After Assange’s arrest in 2010, a group of internet activists coordinated a retaliatory shutdown of major commercial websites, by flooding them with traffic. What is the name of this group?

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10. What are the main arguments for and against leaking secret diplomatic documents, as WikiLeaks did?

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News-Basics Quiz: The Deficit and the Debt

The Basic Five: You should know these.

1. What’s the difference between the national debt and the deficit?

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2. Is our national debt in the millions, billions, or trillions of dollars?

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3. How does the government borrow money?

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4. When does borrowing make sense—even if it means running a deficit?

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5. What’s the difference between the deficit and trade deficits?

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Five Challenges: Find the answers on News-Basics.

6. Why did the national debt grow so quickly between 2007 and 2010?

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7. Why is the national debt a problem?

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8. Did President Clinton erase the national debt?

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9. How did President Clinton manage to run budget surpluses?

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10. What are some other industrialized nations with serious debt problems?

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News-Basics Quiz: The Tea Party

The Basic Five: You should know these.

1. Are Tea Party protesters generally more or less conservative than mainstream Republicans?

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2. Who has been called the symbolic leader of the Tea Party movement?

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3. Where does the name “Tea Party” come from, and what’s the connection to the present movement?

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4. What are the main themes of Tea Party criticism of the government?

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5. The Tea Party protesters have been called both “grass roots” and “AstroTurf.” What do these terms mean?

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Five Challenges: Find the answers on News-Basics.

6. When did the Tea Party movement begin?

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7. What TV newsman was the first to suggest dumping mortgage-backed securities in a lake—giving others the idea for Tea Party protests?

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8. Among Tea Party-backed candidates for the Senate and the House in the November, 2010 election, what percentage won?

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9. What wealthy pair of brothers are among the movement’s biggest financial backers?

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10. A study found that Tea Party supporters include people in two different ideological camps that don’t always agree. What are these two groups?

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News-Basics Quiz: Sudan (and Darfur)

The Basic Five: You should know these.

1. Civil war between north and south was nearly continuous in Sudan from the time of its independence in 1956 until 2011. What happened in 2011 to end this part of the conflict?

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2. What is the main cultural difference between the people in the north and the people of South Sudan?

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3. Which part of the country, north or south, dominated the government until 2011?

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4. What is the name of the region in the west of northern Sudan where a rebellion provoked a fierce government backlash, marked by severe, ongoing human rights violations?

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5. Who has led Sudan since 1989?

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Five Challenges: Find the answers on News-Basics.

6. What resource has accounted for most of Sudan’s export earnings?

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7. What are three key issues remaining to be resolved in the conflict between south and north?

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8. What court has issued an arrest warrant for President Bashir?

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9. The U.S. has both helped and attempted to punish Sudan. Explain.

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10. Who was Colonel John Garang?

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News-Basics Quiz: China

The Basic Five: You should know these.

1. What is the name of the blind activist who sought protection at the U.S. embassy in Beijing in 2012?

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2. Where in Beijing were protests violently suppressed in 1989?

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3. Who is the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet?

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4. Who led China’s Communist government from 1949 until his death in 1976?

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5. What man is considered the architect of China’s explosive economic growth since 1978?

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Five Challenges: Find the answers on News-Basics.

6. What Chinese dissident was awarded the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize?

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7. What are the two names used for Chinese currency?

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8. Why does the U.S. have a trade deficit with China?

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9. How much energy does the average Chinese citizen use, as compared with the average U.S. citizen?

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10. What is China’s name in Mandarin?

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News-Basics Quiz: The War in Iraq

The Basic Five: You should know these.

1. What country did Iraq invade in 1990?

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2. The U.N. resolution that ended the first Gulf War in 1991 forbade Saddam Hussein from possessing or producing certain types of weapons. What types were those?

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3. Which neighboring country did Saddam Hussein launch a war against in 1980?

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4. What was the name of Saddam’s political party?

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5. What is the name of the prison where American soldiers were photographed abusing prisoners?

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Five Challenges: Find the answers on News-Basics.

6. Why did Saddam Hussein prevent U.N. weapons inspectors from seeing sites they asked to visit, if he didn’t have any weapons of mass destruction to hide?

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7. Did Colin Powell, Secretary of State during President George W. Bush’s first term, support the invasion of Iraq or oppose it?

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8. From which branch of Islam have most leaders of the Moslem world come, Sunni or Shiite?

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9. For what crime was Saddam sentenced to death in 2003?

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10. What man became the Prime Minister of Iraq in 2006?

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News-Basics Quiz: The War in Afghanistan

The Basic Five: You should know these.

1. The U.S. invasion of Afghanistan came as a response to what event?

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2. Islamic fundamentalists ruled Afghanistan until late 2001. By what name were they known?

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3. Who became the new president of Afghanistan soon after the American invasion?

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4. What were the main purposes of the war in Afghanistan?

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5. What is the capital of Afghanistan?

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Five Challenges: Find the answers on News-Basics.

6. Religious guerrillas fought to push the Soviet Union out of Afghanistan during the 1980s. What were they called?

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7. What does Taliban mean?

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8. What terrorist leader allied his organization with the Taliban during the late 1990s?

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9. Who is Mullah Omar?

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10. Who is the current Commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan?

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News-Basics Quiz: Iran

The Basic Five: You should know these.

1. Iran refuses to recognize the right of a nearby country to exist. Which country is that?

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2. What does theocracy mean?

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3. Who is the president of Iran?

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4. Fifty-two people were held hostage in Tehran for 444 days, beginning in 1979. What was their nationality?

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5. What Iranian leader was overthrown in the 1979 Revolution?

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Five Challenges: Find the answers on News-Basics.

4. What triggered the biggest street protests in Iran since the 1979 Revolution?

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5. What program is the international community pressuring Iran to shut down?

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8. Are most Iranians Sunnis or Shi’ites?

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9. What are two names for the official language of Iran?

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10. With what country did Iran fight an eight-year war in the ‘80s?

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News-Basics Quiz: Globalization

The Basic Five: You should know these.

1. Name two benefits of globalization.

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2. Name two problems with globalization.

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3. What does NAFTA stand for?

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4. In what continent are most of the “Heavily Indebted Poor Countries” located?

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5. What is the name of the movement to improve income and living standards in developing nations by selling their exports at above-market prices in wealthier nations?

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Five Challenges: Find the answers on News-Basics.

6. What two institutions were created as a result of the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference?

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7. In 1999, protesters disrupted a meeting in Seattle. What organization were they protesting?

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8. What problem do representatives hope to address during the Doha Round of trade negotiations?

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9. What happened to Mexican corn farmers after NAFTA went into effect?

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10. What is the connection between the U.S. trade deficit and the loss of American manufacturing jobs?

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News-Basics Quiz: Terrorism

The Basic Five: You should know these.

1. Who created the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda?

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2. Who led the P.L.O. for 35 years?

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3. What was the goal of the I.R.A.’s bombings and assassinations?

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4. What did Palestinian militants do at the 1972 Olympics in Munich?

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5. In 1993, a truck bomb exploded in an underground parking garage in New York City. Under what building complex was the garage located?

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Five Challenges: Find the answers on News-Basics.

6. What are Al-Qaeda’s main goals?

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7. Who bombed the King David Hotel in Jerusalem in 1946?

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8. What institutions were the targets of the Unabomber?

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9. Who was responsible for the Oklahoma City bombing?

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10. How many people died as a result of the attacks on 9/11?

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News-Basics Quiz: Oil Spill in the Gulf

The Basic Five: You should know these.

1. What is the name of the drilling rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010?

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2. What oil company was leasing the drilling rig, and is responsible for the cleanup?

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3. How many gallons of oil are there in a barrel?

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4. In 1989, the Exxon Valdez spilled 750,000 barrels of oil off the shore of what state?

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5. Who was the CEO of BP at the time of the explosion?

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Five Challenges: Find the answers on News-Basics.

6. What is the name of the device that’s supposed to prevent a leak like this one?

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7. What are some of the methods that were used to keep the oil from reaching the shore?

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8. Why did the E.P.A. ask BP to stop using the dispersant Corexit?

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9. What is a “top kill”?

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10. What is the name of the federal agency that oversees offshore drilling, and that was criticized for not doing its job rigorously enough?

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News-Basics Quiz: The Financial Crisis

The Basic Five: You should know these.

1. What is subprime lending?

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2. What is a housing bubble?

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3. Why are credit ratings agencies sometimes blamed for the financial crisis?

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4. Who has served as Chairman of the Federal Reserve under both Presidents Bush and Obama?

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5. What does TARP stand for, and what was it?

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Five Challenges: Find the answers on News-Basics.

6. Why did so many Americans buy homes in the early 2000s, and what happened as a result?

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7. What happened when people who couldn’t really afford their houses failed to keep up their mortgage payments?

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8. What happened to economic activity in general when banks had less money to lend, and why?

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9. Which of the Big 3 automakers managed to survive the crisis without a bailout?

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10. When did the recession officially end?

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News-Basics Quiz: Health Care Reform

The Basic Five: You should know these.

1. Under the new law, will most Americans be required to have health insurance?

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2. Will insurance companies be allowed to deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions?

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3. In 2008, spending on health care in the U.S. averaged more than $7,600 per person. Is that more or less than is spent in Europe and Canada?

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4. What is Medicaid?

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5. What is Medicare?

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Five Challenges: Find the answers on News-Basics.

6. A Harvard study found that more than 44,000 deaths each year are associated with lack of health insurance. Explain the connection.

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7. What is the fastest-growing part of U.S. health care spending?

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8. What previous presidents hoped to provide Americans with universal health insurance coverage?

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9. In the end, the “public option” was cut out of the health care bill. What was the public option?

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10. What is meant by “defensive medicine”?

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News-Basics Quiz: Stem Cells

The Basic Five: You should know these.

1. What are stem cells?

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2. What are the two main types of stem cells?

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3. Which of the two types of stem cells can develop into any of the different types of cells the body needs?

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4. How are new embryonic stem cells produced in a laboratory?

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5. What is the name of the process by which an unspecialized cell develops into a specialized one?

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Five Challenges: Find the answers on News-Basics.

6. Where are adult (or somatic) stem cells found?

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7. How do doctors hope to be able to use stem cells to treat diseases and injury?

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8. Why is there controversy over the use of human embryonic stem cells?

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9. In 2009, President Obama signed an executive order regarding stem cells. What did this order say?

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10. What is a blastocyst?

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News-Basics Quiz: Global Warming & Climate Change

The Basic Five: You should know these.

1. Do the majority of scientists agree or disagree that there is a global warming trend?

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2. A layer of clouds and gases traps the warming rays of the sun in the atmosphere near the Earth’s surface. What is this phenomenon called?

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3. What are fossil fuels? Give a few examples.

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4. Democrats and Republicans tend to disagree on climate change. What do most members of each party say about whether human activity has contributed to global warming?

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5. What type of light bulb uses much less electricity than standard incandescent bulbs, and is recommended as a way to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions?

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Five Challenges: Find the answers on News-Basics.

6. About how much warmer has the air temperature near the Earth’s surface grown during the 20th century?

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7. In a 2007 report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stated that most of the temperature increase since the mid-20th century was “very likely” caused by what?

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8. Some scientists disagree with the majority’s opinion. What do they disagree about?

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9. If global warming continues, what are some of the possible effects by the end of this century?

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10. What is the name of the 1997 international agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?

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News-Basics Quiz: Steroids

The Basic Five: You should know these.

1. Anabolic steroids are synthetic versions of what hormone?

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2. Is the use of steroids legal in any professional sport?

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3. Why do many parents of teenage athletes oppose allowing athletes to use steroids?

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4. Name three athletes who have tested positive for steroid use, or admitted using them.

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5. What home-run champion has continued to deny that he knowingly used steroids? (He was convicted of obstruction of justice, but the jury couldn’t agree on whether or not he had perjured himself.)

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Five Challenges: Find the answers on News-Basics.

6. How do steroids help muscles grow faster?

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7. How did some ancient Greek athletes seek a competitive edge?

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8. What is HGH, and what does it do?

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9. What former senator released a report on steroid use in professional baseball in 2007?

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10. Anabolic steroids were first developed to treat a medical condition. What was that condition?

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News-Basics Quiz: Abortion

The Basic Five: You should know these.

1. What is the name of the 1973 Supreme Court case that legalized abortion in all 50 states?

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2. During which trimester (3-month period during pregnancy) are most abortions performed?

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3. What does viability mean?

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4. What is emergency contraception?

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5. What is RU-486??

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Five Challenges: Find the answers on News-Basics.

6. Roe v. Wade said that a woman’s right to choose whether or not to carry her pregnancy to term outweighs the government’s interest in protecting the potential life inside her… until a certain point. What was that turning point?

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7. What are some of the restrictions states have placed on abortion rights since 1973?

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8. Roughly what percentage of pregnancies in the U.S. are unintended?

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9. What is the Hyde Amendment?

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10. Did the abortion rate (the number of abortions per 1,000 women of reproductive age) go up or down from 1980 to 2008?

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