Quiz created: 131001

Vocabulary Quiz 29

Instructions: Answer the multiple choice questions, guessing if necessary; then click on the "Process Questions" button at the end of the quiz to see your score in the adjacent message box. The program will not reveal which questions you got wrong, only how many points you have. Go back and change your answers until you get them all right. (The message box will rejoice at that point and the page will change color to show it is tickled pink.)

Points to note: (1) Questions with only one possible answer are one point each. (2) Questions with one or more possible answers (represented by check boxes) give a point for each correct answer, but also subtract a point for each wrong answer! (3) The program will not attempt to score your efforts at all if you have not tried at least half of the questions. (4) This quiz is for your own use only. No record of your progress is kept or reported to anyone.

1. “[Newly elected Iranian Prime Minister] Mr Rohani seems PRAGMATIC enough to know that Iran needs relief from sanctions to revive its economy, and that a more constructive negotiating stance on the nuclear programme will be needed to get that. Nevertheless, the change in Iran’s top civilian office is unlikely to bring an end to the interminable Iranian nuclear crisis.” (The Economist, 130622, p. 25) A person who is describable as “pragmatic” is
intelligent 
different from his or her predecessor 
a good team player 
far-sighted 
realistic 
principled 
No Answer
2. “Sectarian violence in Myanmar first flared nearly a year ago … between the region’s Buddhists and Muslim. Mobs of Buddhists armed with MACHETES razed thousands of Muslim homes, leaving hundreds of people dead and forcing 125,000 to flee, mostly Muslims.” (Associated Press 130526) “Machetes” are
rifles 
spears 
knives 
flame-throwers 
heavy chains 
translators 
cell phones 
No Answer
3. “Sectarian violence in Myanmar first flared nearly a year ago … between the region’s Buddhists and Muslims. Mobs of Buddhists armed with machetes RAZED thousands of Muslim homes, leaving hundreds of people dead and forcing 125,000 to flee, mostly Muslims.” (Associated Press 130526) When a home is “razed” it is
destroyed 
invaded 
set aflame 
emptied of human inhabitants 
burglarized 
No Answer
4. “Not even those keen to intervene in the bloody QUAGMIRE of Syria are tempted to send troops to Congo, no matter how prolonged or grotesque its people’s nightmare may be.” (The Economist, 130615, p. 14) A “quagmire” is
a policy of questionable value 
a battlefield 
a deep, clay-lined pit used to process tar 
a cemetery 
a patch of soft mud, like quicksand 
No Answer
5. “SPOOKS do need secrecy, but not on everything, always, and everywhere.” (The Economist, 130615, p. 11) The term “spook” referred originally to a specter, but has also been extended as a slang term for a
priest 
whistle-blower 
taciturn person 
Internet “scammer” 
spy 
bookkeeper 
tax auditor 
examination grader 
No Answer
6. “Among supporters of the measure was … the official in charge of the STING operations that have closed down 40 illegal stores in Chinatown since 2006 [for selling counterfeit brands].” (Associated Press, 130616) A “sting” operation is one in which
a very painful penalty is threatened 
an arrest involves collateral damage to innocent people 
law agents pretend to be customers for criminals in order to expose them 
the intent is to prevent a merchant from operating on government property 
the intent is to end or prevent objectionable or illegal behavior by using intimidation rather than by making an actual arrest 
No Answer
7. “History is littered with powerful people undone by HUBRIS. Julius Caesar should have ignored the cheers of the Roman crowd and paid heed to the soothsayer. The late Steve Jobs overplayed his hand at Apple as a young man and was kicked out of the company he founded.” (The Economist, 130608, p. 71) “Hubris” refers to
unrealistic self-confidence 
adoration by others 
failure to take account of oracles 
inattention to detail 
fate 
No Answer
8. “The Justice Department … sued to stop Texas from implementing a strict new voter identification law …, the latest … fallout from an INCENDIARY Supreme Court ruling.” (MCT News Service, 130823) Something which is “incendiary”
is controversial 
annoys people 
is backward-looking 
is forward-looking 
involves a very narrow interpretation of established law 
causes fires 
is waste material 
No Answer
9. “Likewise, some analysts of these companies could not be reached immediately for their take on the PERSONNEL decisions.” (San Diego Union Tribune, 130926, p. C4) “Personnel” decisions are decisions that
relate to employees 
involve a single person 
are private and not the business of outsiders 
relate to military operations 
No Answer

      Points out of 9:

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This consummately cool, pedagogically compelling, self-correcting,
multiple-choice quiz was produced automatically from
a simple text file of questions using D.K. Jordan's
dubiously original, but publicly accessible
Think Again Quiz Maker
of April 25, 2010.