The Wall Street Journal Weekly Quiz s3

The Wall Street Journal Education Program

Weekly Review & Quiz

Covering front-page articles from April 29-May 5, 2006

Quiz Spring 2006 Issue #16

Developed by: Scott R. Homan Ph.D., Purdue University

1. Federal rules require auto makers' fleets to average______ miles a gallon, a fuel-economy standard that hasn't gone up since 1990.

a. 25.5

b. 26.5

c. 27.5

d. 28.5

2. A fuel made by extracting sugar from cheap and plentiful farm wastes, such as corn stalks, wood chips and wheat and rice straw is known as

a. sprinter ethanol

b. cellulosic ethanol

c. cellulitic ethanol

d. hybrid ethanol

3. Unlike the energy crises of the 1970s, which resulted from reduced supplies of Mideast oil, today's crunch is due largely to:

a. the war in Iraq

b. a swift rise in global oil demand

c. the loss of U.S. oil refineries in Hurricane Katrina

d. the increase in personal income

4. Traditionally, gasoline use in the U.S. rises about ____ each year.

a. 1.5%

b. 2.0%

c. 2.5%

d. 3.0%

5. The __________, conceived to protect farmers, then helped trigger a trade war that deepened the Great Depression.

a. Farm Aid Tariff

b. Smoot-Hawley Tariff

c. Smith-Jones Tariff

d. Davidson-Hawley Tariff

6. Today, immigration rates are back to levels not seen consistently since the early _____.

a. 1620s

b. 1880s

c. 1920s

d. 1940s

7. Ms. Angela Merkel is the leader of ________.

a. France

b. United Kingdom

c. Italy

d. Germany

8. Recent polls put Ms. Angela Merkel's public approval ratings at around _____.

a. 17%

b. 26%

c. 70%

d. 83%

9. Dr. Pettit founded the Arizona State University's Cancer Research Institute in 1975 and ran it for 30 years, largely funded with royalty income on his _____U.S. patents and money he raised from gifts and grants.

a. 12

b. 22

c. 42

d. 62

10. Dr. Pettit's battle with his employer spotlights a broader change under way in academia, as many universities start to treat their professors more like ______.

a. employees of a business

b. temps

c. consultants

d. students

11. Neelie Kroes is the antitrust enforcer for _______.

a. Australia

b. Europe

c. Africa

d. China

12. Many businesses favor _________because its cost is nominal and its underlying programming code is published openly, making it a cheaper, more flexible alternative to Windows.

a. Bob

b. Orange

c. Lineup

d. Linux

13. Georgia-Pacific Corp has had difficulties meeting their quota for hiring women in management positions for the following reason(s):

a. women don’t want to deal with “filthy mouthed” mill workers

b. demanding schedules can deter women with kids

c. the isolated rural locations of many manufacturing sites

d. Both b and c

14. William Olson’s success stems in part from his refusal to cooperate unless a recruiter promises to give him_______.

a. frank feedback

b. inside information

c. interviewer personality profiles

d. large amounts of cash for participating

15._________ overshadows Russia and China to rank as the world's largest market for pirated U.S. films, accounting for an estimated $483 million in lost revenue to MPAA member studios in 2005.

a. The United States

b. Mexico

c. India

d. Japan

16. Many companies rushing to beat rivals with new software, considered checking for bugs that could later be exploited by hackers as _____.

a. a waste of time

b. a good use of time

c. a great use of time

d. the most important use of time

17. The theory of sexual selection says that _______.

a. females choose males with average genes

b. males choose females with average genes

c. males choose females with the best genes

d. females choose males with the best genes

18. In Iceland Mr. Valgreen's words had a particular impact. Iceland's stock market tumbled ____ right after the release of his report for Danske Bank, which predicted the Icelandic economy could shrink by 5% to 10%, and that Iceland might not merely face recession, but also "a severe financial crisis."

a. 1.5%

b. 2.5%

c. 3.5%

d. 4.5%

19._________ investors often provide the earliest funding for entrepreneurs building new companies. In return for a stake in the budding company, they typically invest anywhere from $25,000 to $100,000 of their own cash, feeding a Silicon Valley start-up culture that is perpetually looking for the next big thing.

a. Maiden

b. Celestial

c. Angel

d. Prime

20. Edmunds, a Web site dedicated to auto-industry issues, says domestic vehicle sales _______ for the month from a year earlier.

a. declined

b. increased

c. doubled

d. tripled

21. Google offers the fastest, deepest and most precise search in the world -- but limits itself in _______.

a. Korea

b. the United States

c. China

d. Cuba

22. With about 1,400 stores in the U.S. and sales of $53 billion last year, Target is where the Wal-Mart juggernaut, with roughly 3,900 stores currently, was about ____ years ago.

a. 5

b. 10

c. 15

d. 20

23. Large-stock growth funds try to invest in _____.

a. sizable companies experiencing slow growth

b. small companies experiencing a growth spurt

c. small companies experiencing slow growth

d. sizable companies experiencing a growth spurt

24. The typical absence of __________ can make marijuana addiction difficult to break.

a. hangovers

b. motivation

c. accomplishments

d. dramatic consequences

25. As much as _______ of legitimate bulk commercial email -- which includes mail users sign up to receive as well as online statements and receipts -- gets caught in spam filters, according to Ferris Research, a San Francisco-based market researcher.

a. 10%

b. 20%

c. 30%

d. 40%

26. Differences between older and younger generations of women in the workplace are reflected in that

a. young staffers tend to be 9-to-5ers instead of late-nighters

b. many older female managers are reluctant to be mentors

c. many younger women feel that older female colleagues and bosses aren't helpful or relevant

d. All of the above