AP World History General Review #4 (Odds)

Q: Which of the following best describes the development of transportation and communication in the twentieth century?

• Although methods of transportation became more expensive, methods of communication became less expensive over time.

• New technologies made transportation and communication more expensive over time.

• New methods of transportation and communication became more affordable over time

• Between 1980 and 1990, the cost of all forms of transportation and communication increased.

"A comparison with the United States highlights the nature of China’s [health care] achievements. China was seventeen years behind America’s life expectancy in 1900 (30 versus 47) and that gap actually widened to twenty-five years (44 versus 69) by mid-century. Yet by 2000, the gap had narrowed to only six years, with China’s average life expectancy at 71 and the United States’ life expectancy at 77."

Q: The changes in life expectancy in China described in the second paragraph are most likely attributable to which of the following?

• By the mid-twentieth century China had become an industrialized economy, while by the end of the twentieth century it had become a postindustrial, services-dominated economy

• By the mid-twentieth century China was still plagued by infectious diseases associated with poverty, while by the end of the twentieth century it had overcome those diseases.

• By the mid-twentieth century China had become a communist country, while by the end of the twentieth century it had become a capitalist country.

• By the mid-twentieth century China had not yet been affected by lifestyle diseases associated with modernity, while by the end of the twentieth century it was suffering from high rates of those diseases

“I argue that the current state of affairs is unsound and unsustainable. Financial markets are inherently unstable and there are social needs that cannot be met by giving market forces free rein. Unfortunately, these defects are not recognized. Instead, there is a widespread belief that markets are self-correcting ...

To put the matter simply, market forces, if they are given complete authority even in the purely economic and financial arenas, produce chaos and could ultimately lead to the downfall of the global financial system. . . . Capitalism needs a counterweight because the capitalist system by itself shows no tendency toward equilibrium. The owners of capital seek to maximize their profits. Left to their own devices, they would continue to accumulate capital until the situation became unbalanced.”

-George Soros, 1998

Q: Which of the following best explains how a supporter of free trade and market deregulation would counter Soros’ critiques of free markets in the passage?

• Soros ignores the fact that government deregulation of financial systems has led to the most serious economic crises in the twentieth century.

• Soros fails to recognize that governments across the world have been reluctant to reduce subsidies for many local industries.

• Soros ignores the fact that the adoption of free-market policies by states around the world in the late twentieth century increased standards of living for many people.

• Soros fails to acknowledge the fact that capitalist states continue to promote economic inequality between corporations and workers despite the adoption of social safety nets.

WORKERS AND SOLDIERS MARCHING IN THE STREETS OF SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIAN EMPIRE, AFTER TAKING OVER CONTROL OF THE CITY, FEBRUARY 1917.

Q: The makeup of the force shown in the image is best explained by the fact that by 1917:

• nationalism in Russia had intensified sharply as a result of the shared experiences of the First World War

• new military technologies had made it possible to transport soldiers more rapidly

• wartime propaganda had fueled fanatical loyalty to the Tsarist regime among ordinary Russians

• Russia’s army morale and home-front effort were collapsing because of the strains of total war

“The German people once built up a colonial empire without robbing anyone and without violating any treaty. That colonial empire was taken away from us unreasonably ... Germany has never demanded colonies for military purposes, but exclusively for economic purposes. It is obvious that in times of general prosperity the value of certain territories may decrease, but it is just as evident that in times of distress such value increases. Today, Germany lives in a time of difficult struggle for foodstuffs and raw materials. Sufficient imports are conceivable only if there is a continued and lasting increase in our exports. Therefore, as a matter of course, our demand for colonies for our densely populated country will be put forward again and again.”

-Adolf Hitler, 1937

Q: Based on the historical situation in which the speech was given, Hitler’s most significant motivation for giving the speech was likely to continue to:

• make his case to the German people that Jews and other minority populations were a threat to German

• eliminate potential opposition to Nazi rule by labeling political opponents as traitors to the German nation

• reinforce the idea to the German people that past injustices required Germany to continue its military buildup and engage in future territorial expansion

• overstate the extent to which Nazi economic policies had helped Germany overcome the unjust actions of its Western European rivals and prosper again

“After long periods of error, philosophers have at last discovered the true rights of man and how they can all be deduced from the single truth: that man is a perceptive being capable of reason and acquiring moral ideas.

At last, man could proclaim his rights out loud, rights that for so long had been ignored. He could submit all opinions to his own reason and use that reason to search for truth. Every man learned with pride that nature had not forever condemned him to base his beliefs on the opinions of others or the superstitions of antiquity.

Thus developed an understanding that the natural rights of man are inalienable and cannot be forfeited and a strongly expressed desire for freedom of thought, trade, and profession."

Q: Which of the following is the main claim that the author makes in the first paragraph?

• Europeans should learn from the knowledge and wisdom of classical Greece and Rome.

• Philosophy and science are fundamentally incompatible.

• People have natural rights that can be established through rational inquiry.

• Ethics and morality are subjective and culture-specific.

2. Every Hutu should know that our Hutu daughters are more suitable and dutiful in their roles as women, wives, and mothers of the family. . . .

4. Every Hutu should know that every Tutsi is dishonest in business. Their only aim is supremacy for their ethnic minority group. As a consequence, every Hutu is a traitor who makes a business partnership with a Tutsi, invests his money in a Tutsi enterprise, lends money to a Tutsi, or gives business favors to a Tutsi.

6. The majority of the education sector must be Hutu.

7. The Rwandan armed forces should be exclusively Hutu. No member of the military should marry a Tutsi.

8. The Hutu should stop having mercy on the Tutsi.

Q: The “Hutu Ten Commandments” is best explained as being part of which of the following continuities in twentieth-century history?

• Authoritarian communist regimes attempting to control the daily lives of their populations

• Liberal governments attempting to manage the interests of competing ethnic groups

• Extremist groups using propaganda to target specific minority populations

• New ideologies emerging and presenting challenges to the economic order

Q: Which of the following best summarizes the way in which the development of the factory system and the development of new transportation infrastructure such as railways worked together as factors facilitating British industrialization?

• The factory system produced the surplus labor that led large numbers of British people to emigrate overseas, and the new transportation infrastructure enabled those migrants to make their journ

• The factory system concentrated the working classes in cities, and new transportation infrastructure allowed governments to better monitor and police these workers.

• The factory system concentrated production in relatively few locations, and the new transportation infrastructure allowed more goods and people to reach these locations in less time.

• The factory system led to an ever-greater degree of specialization of labor and, by doing so, helped meet the railway industry’s need for highly skilled workers.

Note: The six scenes in the image are surrounded by portraits of British inventors.

Q: In the period circa 1750–1900, the historical process illustrated by the image led directly to all of the following major global transformations EXCEPT:

• the transition from human- and animal-powered economies to fossil fuel-powered economies

• a significant increase in transregional trade and migration

• the outbreak of the Atlantic revolutions and the emergence of new states in the Americas

• the increasing use of electricity in industrial and consumer applications

“Just yesterday, you sent me a telegram appealing to my friendship and called upon me to act as an intermediary and help resolve the conflict between you and the Austro-Hungarian government. But I understand that, even as you did that, your troops were being mobilized against Austria-Hungary. This makes my attempts at meditation almost pointless. Nonetheless, I continued in my efforts today (end first paragraph).

I now receive fresh news of even more serious Russian preparations for war on my Eastern frontier. Responsibility for the safety of my empire forces me to take defensive and preventive measures. In my endeavors to maintain the peace of the world, I have gone to the utmost limit possible. The responsibility for the disaster that is now threatening the civilized world will not be laid at my door. At this moment, you still have the power to avert war. Nobody is threatening the honor or power of Russia, and you can well afford to await the result of my mediation. My friendship for you and your empire, transmitted to me by my grandfather on his deathbed, has always been sacred to me and I have often supported Russia in the past when she was in serious trouble.”

Wilhelm II, emperor of Germany, telegram to Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, July 31, 1914

Q: Which of the following events that preceded the outbreak of the First World War best explains why Russian troops were being mobilized against Austria-Hungary, as stated in the FIRST PARAGRAPH?

• Russia wanted to demonstrate to Austria-Hungary that its military forces had recovered from their defeat during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905.

• Russia was acting in support of Serbia, which was facing an imminent Austro-Hungarian attack following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

• Russia was confident that its mutual defense treaties with France and Great Britain would ensure that Austria-Hungary would not dare attack it.

• Russia wanted to divert its people’s attention away from its pressing economic problems and stop the growth of socialist parties.