Chapter 21
South America
Stirring Giant
29.French Guiana is:
a.An independent country
b.A colony of France
c.A French U.N. mandate
d.An overseas department of France
e.A French penal colony
30.Which of these countries has a Native American majority population?
a.Guyana
b.Paraguay
c.Chile
d.Ecuador
e.Colombia
31. The Orinoco River flows through the:
a.Selvas
b.Pampas
c.Gran Chaco
d.Llanos
e.Campos
32.Which national leader declared he was leading a “Bolivarian Revolution”?
a.Luiz Inacio da Silva
b.Hugo Chavez
c.Alvaro Uribe
d.Alejandro Toledo
e.Nestor Kirchner
33.Which of these statements about recent events in Venezuela is false?
a.Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez took power after a brief coup deposed the democratically elected government in 2000
b.Most Venezuelan popular opinion was opposed to Hugo Chavez taking personal control of Venezuela’s state-run oil company
c.Hugo Chavez’s support came mostly from Venezuela’s poor who stood to benefit from a nationwide redistribution of wealth and land
d.The United States joined a “Group of Friends” that attempted to bring a diplomatic resolution to Venezuela’s political situation
e.Oil exports from Venezuela dropped by 90 percent only one month into a general nationwide labor strike
34.The Dutch traded _____ to the British for Suriname.
a.The Bahamas
b.New Amsterdam
c.Trinidad and Tobago
d.Jamaica
e.The Falkland Islands
35. Why were the Spanish unable to develop much of an export agriculture around Bogotá?
a.The native population in the area at the time was insufficient for the amount of labor needed
b.The rocky mountain soils were too dry and stony for all but low-yield subsistence crops to be grown
c.Many crops planted by the Spanish could not survive the frosts and night coolness at that elevation
d.The Spanish only settled in the Bogotá area a few years before Colombia gained independence and never had time to develop the area’s agricultural potential
36. Which city is known as the “control center” for Colombia’s huge illegal export trade in cocaine and marijuana?
a.Cartagena
b.Buenaventura
c.Cali
d.Barranquilla
e.Santa Marta
37.FARC unleashed a large terrorist attack in which Colombian city in 2002?
a.Villavicencio
b.Manizales
c.Bogotá
d.Cartagena
e.Valledupar
38.Colombia’s former president Andres Pastrana:
a.Created the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia to fight the narco-terrorist groups
b.Successfully negotiated a peace treaty with the ELN in 2002 but not with FARC
c.Tolerated FARC autonomy in three southern provinces for three years
d.Was assassinated by FARC agents several days after his inauguration
e.Released most jailed FARC operatives in exchange for FARC giving up control over one southern state
39.FARC has been associated with which group, some members of which were arrested in Bogotá after a terrorist attack in Colombia?
a.The Zapatistas
b.The Irish Republican Army
c.The Basque ETA
d.Shining Path
e.al-Qai’da
40.The potato was first brought to Europe from:
a.Colombia
b.Argentina
c.Brazil
d.Ecuador
e.Peru
41.The world’s leading banana exporter is:
a.Brazil
b.Ecuador
c.Venezuela
d.Colombia
e.Peru
42.Which two countries had armed conflicts over a border dispute in 1981 and in 1994?
a.Brazil and Venezuela
b.Venezuela and Guyana
c.Ecuador and Peru
d.Colombia and Venezuela
e.Bolivia and Chile
43.Which of these statements about Peru is false?
a.Peru’s president Alberto Fujimori led a largely successful campaign against the Shining Path and Tupac Amaru rebel groups
b.Lima today has a population of over 8 million and was founded several miles inland from a natural harbor
c.Peru was once the world leader in both fish catch and silver production
d.Farmed areas in central and southern sections of the Peruvian Andes are so dry that only irrigated areas are productive
e.The city of Cuzco was once the capital of the Incan empire, and is now a major trading city thanks to its location at the head of navigation on the Amazon River
44. Lake Titicaca and the city of La Paz are both at what approximate elevation?
a.3,000 feet
b.6,000 feet
c.9,000 feet
d.12,000 feet
e.15,000 feet
45. Brazil has the distinction of having the world’s:
a.Largest maldistribution of national wealth
b.Largest urban agglomeration in São Paulo-Rio de Janeiro
c.Largest amount of foreign debt
d.Largest silver, tin, and bauxite deposits
e.Largest amount of available fresh water
46. Brazil’s two former capitals were (in chronological order):
a.Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo
b.Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro
c.Salvador, São Paulo
d.Belo Horizonte, Salvador
e.Salvador, Rio de Janeiro
47. Coastal cities established by Europeans in Brazil prospered initially from exporting _____ to Europe.
a.Brazilwood
b.Rubber
c.Sugarcane
d.Silver
e.Gold
48. Brazil became independent in _____, but did not emancipate its large slave population until _____.
a.1799; 1828
b.1822; 1888
c.1889; 1922
d.1822; 1865
e.1830; 1850
49. Production of _____ has been a major source of Amazonian deforestation in recent years.
a.Cotton
b.Soybeans
c.Rubber
d.Rice
e.Corn
50. What prevented Brazil’s hoped-for “economic takeoff”?
a.The collapse of coffee prices worldwide from overproduction
b.A military dictatorship seizing control of Brazil’s government
c.Too much of Brazil’s productive agricultural land owned by too few people
d.A quadrupling of oil prices after volatility in the Middle East
e.Brazil’s entry into the Mercosur economic zone
51. Eighty-five percent of which country’s population is estimated to be of “pure” European descent?
a.Paraguay
b.Uruguay
c.Chile
d.Ecuador
e.Brazil
52.Which of these countries is the best example of a “neo-Europe”?
a.Argentina
b.Venezuela
c.Colombia
d.Peru
e.Paraguay
53.What was the “disappeared generation”?
a.The Native Americans displaced from their land in the Brazilian Highlands during the gold and silver rushes
b.The victims of violence between the Shining Path and the Peruvian armed forces in the 1980s
c.The Chilean people who were killed for opposing the regime of General Augusto Pinochet
d.Argentines killed by “death squads” run by the ultranationalist and semifascist military rulers of that country
e.Citizens of Cali, Medellin, Cartagena, and other Colombian cities and regions killed by terrorist acts committed by FARC and other rebel groups
54. The main economic activity of Patagonia is:
a.Cattle ranching
b.Silver mining
c.Subsistence agriculture
d.Natural gas production
e.Sheep rearing
55. The socialist president of _____, Salvador Allende, was deposed in 1973 by a U.S.-backed coup.
a.Chile
b.Argentina
c.Peru
d.Colombia
e.Venezuela
56.Which country currently has free-trade agreements with the United States, the European Union, and South Korea?
a.Argentina
b.Brazil
c.Chile
d.Uruguay
e.Suriname
57.The most urbanized country in South America is:
a.Venezuela
b.Argentina
c.Chile
d.Brazil
e.Uruguay
58.The area of Mediterranean climate is home to _____ percent of _____’s population.
a.70; Argentina
b.60; Chile
c.50; Uruguay
d.90; Uruguay
e.80; Chile
59.Uruguay:
a.Has a population relatively evenly distributed over its territory
b.Is a primarily poor rural ranching country dominated by Argentina
c.Generates almost all of its electricity from hydropower
d.Briefly was a British colony to prevent the Portuguese from controlling the area
e.Is in the process of exploiting its vast natural resources for export to MDCs
60. Which of these statements about Paraguay is false?
a.Mennonites replaced Catholics as the dominant religious group among white Paraguayans after a steady stream of immigration in the 1920s and 1930s
b.The Gran Chaco is an area with sandy soils, moderate rainfall and rapid evapotranspiration
c.Paraguay’s GDP-PPP is far below that of its neighbors because of its landlocked location and high costs of transporting goods for export
d.The Spanish used Asunción as the base from which the surrounding areas of South America were colonized
61.Since 1944, the Antarctic Peninsula has warmed by _____ degrees Fahrenheit.
a.1.5
b.2.5
c.3.5
d.4.5
e.5.5
62.Which of these statements about Antarctica is false?
a.About 4,000 researchers live on the continent during the summer
b.There were several important British whaling stations on the Antarctic Peninsula until 1965
c.The Antarctic Treaty nullifies all the national claims to Antarctica’s territory
d.The South Pole was first reached by a Norwegian team in 1911
e.The Transantarctic Mountains separate West Antarctica from East Antarctica
63.The Falkland Islands are a colony of:
a.Argentina
b.Great Britain
c.France
d.Spain
e.Portugal
True-False Questions
1.AngelFalls originates at the top of a tepui.
TRUE
2.FARC and other militant groups in Colombia obtain most of their funding by taxing coca growers.
TRUE
3.The Tropic of Capricorn lies north of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
FALSE
4.Most Paraguayans live poleward of the Tropic of Capricorn.
TRUE
5.The Atacama is the hottest, driest desert on Earth.
FALSE